Lady Saint
by the stargate time traveller
Summary: AU; One of my Saint crossovers with Harry Potter, except with FEM!HARRY. Lara Potter runs away after her parents decide to get rid of her, in favour of her brother, harry, the boy who lived. but she becomes the greatest thief in the world.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **Lara Potter is the girl who lived, but everyone believes it to be her twin brother, Harry, but after a party which she crashed and talk of her being sent away by her parents, she decides to run away and make it on her own. When the truth comes out, the magical world learn they've made a fatal mistake.

Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter or the Saint by Leslie Charteris.

**Lady Saint.**

**The runaway.**

Lara Potter was a beautiful young witch, she had long raven black hair and bright green eyes and a lush figure for a girl her age.

At the moment, she wasn't vibrant. She was depressed. It was the night of her 7th birthday, but no one was celebrating it. The only birthday the magical world could and would celebrate was her brother's birthday. Her brother, the famous boy who lived. Her parents Lily and James didn't care about her and never would, she had been neglected by her parents for a long time and was forever used to it.

Even Sirius and Remus, her so called uncles, didn't care about her, preferring to spend time with Harry even when he was a useless lump.

Lara's eyes filled with tears as she remembered the party. She'd only come in for some cake and food but her mother had dragged her out and slapped her face. Now she could hear voices from downstairs.

Lara took a deep breath that rasped in her chest. She packed her stuff, knowing in a few moments she would be kicked out of the manor and sent to strangers.

She packed her beloved books in a holdall and looked at the spine of one of them. Enter the Saint, by Leslie Charteris, the exploits of her favourite action figure.

Simon Templar, the Saint, a robin hood of the 20th century, a buccaneer and highwayman all rolled into one man. She'd read the books and loved them all.

She also packed the magical books into the holdall, clicking her fingers in order to shrink them and put them into a nice trunk. The books on potions, charms and transfiguration along with defence and dark arts books. But there were others, including books on techno magic. The potter library had self updating charms on it, allowing new books to arrive and be stored according to their genre.

Lara looked around the room for the final time and picking up her techno magic portkey, vanished from Potter manor.

_Downstairs._

" I don't care, Dumbledore, the girl is going and that is that!"

James potter screamed into the face of his mentor, uncaring of the spittle flying from his mouth.

" Very well," the old wizard replied, giving a fake sigh of concern, like the others he didn't care about the girl at all.

" Where do we put her ?" Remus asked.

" With my sister. She'll make sure the little runt doesn't go to Hogwarts." Lily potter spoke up, holding her son closer to her chest.

What the group didn't know was that in 7 years time, they would regret this.

_6 years time._

The art gallery was silent in the night as the security systems and the guard patrolled the place. It was pathetically easy for the shadowy figure to sneak in, almost invisible. From time to time, she hid when necessary. She approached a painting.

The Mona Lisa.

Reaching into her utility belt, she pulled out a long black stick and a small disc. She clamped the disc onto the plate glass barrier and pressed the control. The glass vanished, leaving the laser beams, try and break them normally and every alarm in Paris would go off.

Lady Saint applied the wand, even though it wasn't a wand, and pressed the control. Orange light swirled around the lasers, shifting them away and giving her access.

She took the portrait down and shrunk it and putting it away in a holdall. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a square piece of card, on the card was a black stickwoman with a halo.

The calling card of Lady Saint.

The newspapers of the world went mad. Headlines read " **LADY SAINT STRIKES AGAIN !"**

" **PORTRAIT STOLEN - LADY SAINT DOES IT AGAIN!" **and others.

None of this concerned the object of the discussion. Lady Saint was waiting in a small bungalow in Yorkshire, waiting for one of the clients. Nearby on a chair, was a Mona Lisa. Not the genuine article, but a clever little copy. She'd used her magic to make as many copies as she could in a short space of time. Lady Saint wasn't stupid, she'd rather perform an auction and give out copies then give the real thing back, pocketing the money.

Lady Saint had spent a year putting this plan into operation and now she'd succeeded, gathering contacts and arranging for this local for the drop off and arranging appointments for the millionaires to arrive.

There was a knock on the door.

Lady Saint, pulling on the last hint of her disguise, went to answer the door.

A/N - What do you think ? Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter or the Saint.

**Lady Saint. **

**Run in with the Dursleys. **

" **MONA LISA RECOVERED AFTER 3 MONTHS !"**

The story went on detailing the mysterious delivery of the famous painting to the French police, how it'd been verified and checked constantly. Forgery wasn't something which criminals were not above.

Unless they were not like most criminals, the category Lady Saint belonged to. She was proud of that particular aspect of her nature, that she wasn't like other people.

Lara smirked as she read the paper, her long hair in a bun with some hair loose and she was wearing a beautiful yellow dress.

_That should piss off the clients that bought the fakes_, she thought gleefully.

Lara wasn't concerned with the rich people trying to find her and dispose of her for the deception, she'd rented the bungalow under an assumed name, she'd worn separate disguises for each and every one of them.

Over 15 of them. She'd received a good 678 million pounds and was now splitting that up into her separate bank accounts. All the transactions were done electronically, so the notes couldn't be traced. The Mona Lisa's return had been part of the plan.

Now, all she had to do was go to Gringotts and make a deposit.

The money had been split into 3 - one for the 3 bank accounts she had, one for Gringotts, to go into her wizard fund which she kept just in case she needed it. The final third went to charity.

Lara put on a cloak with a cowl, and gathered some of her weapons in case of a run in with undesirable elements of the magical world and stepped into the disapparation chamber of the manor. The manor itself was outside the city of London, remote and alone.

_Diagon Alley._

The alley hadn't changed much in the last few years - still a bustle of activity with people looking for merchandise. Quality Quidditch supplies was bustling with people gawping at the racing brooms in the window. Lara didn't really care as she wasn't interested in the sport. Leave it to simple minded fools.

Making sure her cloak was covering her head, she walked all the way to the bank, making sure not to be noticed. It wasn't hard, everyone was concentrating on their own ordinary lives whilst the muggle world's greatest criminal walked through their midst.

As soon as she entered she noticed her twin brother, her parents nearby with Remus and Sirius. Biting her lip to stop herself from taking her dagger and slicing open their necks, Lara walked over to a free goblin.

" Good day, I would like to change this muggle money into wizarding currency and place the deposit in my vault."

She spoke as quietly as she could, she had no idea what her parents had been up to in the last few years and frankly couldn't care less. The family could fall into a volcano for all she cared, besides she had a new life, one of adventure and daring danger. Not a life of being kept in the shadows of a sprawling mansion.

The goblin sighed and did as he was told. It was a fairly straight forward process. Muggle credit cards were easily adaptable to goblins and taking the cash from it wasn't hard. The teller gave her back the card and gave her a statement.

" The money should be in your vault in 3 days, Miss Taylor." He said and went back to his original work.

" Thank you, " she said and walked out, ignoring the Potters, not noticing Remus who was staring after her.

" What is it ?" Sirius, who'd been looking bored until he'd noticed his friend looking at a young cloaked woman who'd left the bank.

Remus looked at him. " I don't know. Something…something about that woman who'd left just now. Something…familiar."

Lara walked through the alley, pausing to buy a few newspapers. It was a good idea to know what the magical world had been getting up to in the last few years. There were other newspapers and they presented a more liberal view than the biased and small minded view that Lara found with the Daily Prophet. That newspaper was more in favour with the ministry than was healthy, but even so it gave Lara a good idea what the general propaganda the Ministry was feeding the sheep of wizarding kind.

As soon as she left, she didn't notice Remus and Sirius come out of the bank….

_3 days later._

Lara was getting bored. The manor she lived in was large and the facilities gave her plenty to do but even so that didn't mean she couldn't go shopping. Dressing in a black jacket and trousers, she got in a car and drove to London, planning to do some shopping.

She parked in London in Bond St, and started shopping. Lara was just getting into her stride when she accidentally bumped into a tall, horse like woman with a pinched expression on her face.

" Watch where you're going !" She shrieked.

Lara turned round quickly. Bumping into people wasn't something she liked doing, " I'm sorry."

The woman looked at her, fear and terror and rage at war in her eyes. " Lily ?"

Lara tensed at the name, " How do you know my mother's name ?"

Her mother often mentioned a sister when she used to threaten Lara with them. Judging from her smirks at the time, her sister's relationship with mommy dearest wasn't exactly kosher.

The woman didn't hear her, she was terrified. " Vernon ! Dudley! We're leaving." She turned to run away, with two men who looked like beached whales. One was purple faced with a bushy moustache, the other lecherous and eying her like a piece of meat.

The woman turned to face her, anger on her face, " You keep away from me, you freak. Your freaky mother…" She stopped and ran. Lara cast a tracking spell on all 3 of the eccentric family and ignoring the looks of the onlookers, she sat down on a nearby chair.

The meeting with her aunt had stunned her, she'd tried to renounce everything that made her a Potter, including at times, her physical appearance with disguises.

Meeting her aunt made her realise that sooner or later a confrontation with her family was coming. She wasn't exactly sure what it was.

Most people got feelings of premonition - Lady Saint got them herself, she used them as a sort of sixth sense. Lady Saint was a woman who combined action, instinct, cunning and strength with logic and calm.

Her aunt's hostility itself was telling, she was either afraid of her mother's abilities as a witch or she was afraid. Maybe both. Her whales on the other hand had question marks above their heads, whilst Lara had a halo above her own head.

She stood up and made for her car.

It didn't take long for Lara to find out where the family lived. They lived in a relatively boring part of the world in Surrey, little whinging Lara was certain it was called. Lara never really explored these parts because of the stifling boredom it was situated in, there was something about suburbia that made her insides clench. It was the fact everything was the same, the neighbours were back stabbers with identical mindsets and equal prejudices. The houses themselves lacked the personality Lara yearned for in life. Lady Saint couldn't stand the lack of passion these parts of the world had.

The amulet flared green.

Lara stopped the car gently and looked around the street - Privet Drive - and held the amulet in her hands. Pointing it at the various houses, it wasn't long before the thing flared green again, this time at Number 4.

Lara looked at the house, it was like the others, except for the fact that her aunt was inside and she knew her mother. Besides, some insight into the dratted woman who gave birth to her was welcome.

Elegantly, Lady Saint left the car, locking it with her special measures and casually strolled up the path. She could feel the stares from the other houses and looked round. Her eyesight was acute enough to notice the curtains flash as their owners found something better to do. A sneer graced her face as her eyes flashed with open contempt.

Turning back to the door, she paused, the idea of ringing the doorbell was so ordinary and boring. But she had no alternative. The spying morons in the street would rush to their telephone before she even got through the door and the coppers would turn up.

Shrugging, she pressed the bell, hard.

She waited.

Lady Saint often wondered how slow people could be when roused from their boring and tedious routines. She could see the smaller whale waddle to the door. The door opened and the whale stared at her with beady little eyes. This was the first time she'd seen her cousin up close and could safely say that the last time, the distance had been a positive godsend.

The whale eyed her and spoke, " Hey baby, wanna ride ?" whether he was trying to flirt or was so stupid to think that dodgy line would make her swoon, she didn't know.

Lara eyed him with disdain, " What makes you think I'm here to see you, tubby cheeks ? Get your mother, tell her that Lara, her niece is here and tell her I don't have much patience and tell her I have business with her. Get on with it."

The whale needn't have bothered, his father turned up. He sneered, " What do you want, freak ?" evidently, his wife told him who she was.

Lara moved so fast that she was a blur, she pinned the walrus up against the wall and kicked the door closed with a bang. His lump of a son tried to get her off but Lara swatted him aside with magic.

Her uncle went even redder at that display and ranted.

" GIRL! DON'T USE YOUR FREAK…"

" Shut up." The coldness in her voice shut him up.

Petunia Dursley had been relaxing in the garden, when she heard the commotion. Thinking it was one of those parents out to get her precious Dudley, she walked back in and saw her niece.

Petunia screamed.

" Hello to you to, dear Aunty, I was driving past and decided we needed to talk." Lara said with a smile.

" I have nothing to say to you," Petunia spat out. She knew the freaky girl didn't have any power over her. She was underage and underage freaks couldn't do that stuff.

The smile left Lara's face, " What makes you think you have a choice ?" she asked coldly. She let go of her uncle and clicked her fingers, casting an ice spell on both him and Dudley.

Petunia's face went pale as she watched both men in her life become ice cubes. She looked into her nieces eyes and saw a fire that even her sisters' freakish eyes never had. This woman was more dangerous than her sister could ever hope to be.

" You'd better come this way," Petunia lead the way, trying desperately to think of a way to get the dangerous young witch out of her home.

Lara got a good look at the place. It was so sterile and barren. There wasn't a hint of dust, no ordinary house would ever be this clean. Then again, her home was spotless, but only just.

She took a place at the table.

Lara took out her mobile phone and touched the recording button. " I want to ask some questions, and don't think for a moment I wont use my " freak" powers on you to get the truth. My parents may not have do something like that with their holier than thou attitude, but I will. For starters, when did you last contact my mother ?"

It went on like this for the best part of 45 minutes, Lara asking questions and Petunia answering them. Lara knew her aunt was bigoted but this…she hadn't contacted her sister since their parents died. Information about their childhoods came out, giving her an insight into her mother, who according to her aunt, was as bitchy and arrogant as a kid as she was like an adult. But that particular view was clouded by the bigot in front of Lara.

Lara wasn't interested in most of the information about Petunia, who kept getting off track about certain things, like the fact her sister had turned her back on her grandparents. Lara didn't care about her grandparents, on either side. They were dead and she never saw her father's parents portraits. She'd gotten used to the idea of not knowing her parents relatives, they'd never been interested in her, so why should she for them ?

Lara sat and listened as the older woman answered her final question - how would she get in touch with her mother if given a chance.

" My sister had a friend, another freak, called Severus Snape. Something like that, he lives in spinners end. I don't know where," she added hastily, thinking her niece would get angry, " he has greasy black hair and black eyes and a cold voice."

Petunia took a deep breath, wondering what was next.

Lady Saint just sat there, looking relaxed, almost like she was sunbathing and not confronting a relative. She assimilated the information in her mind, going over each angle.

Finally, Lara stood up and prepared to leave. " Thank you, Aunt Petunia. I'll be in touch," she said, ignoring her aunts wince.

" oh, 3 things, 1. Don't try and contact my mother or any other witch or wizard," again she ignored her aunts wince at the two words. " 2, don't try and leave the country. I will find you and I will want to know why you left and make sure your oaf of a husband knows that when I say stay, you stay." She flashed magic into her eyes, making them glow. It was for intimidation. It worked on her aunt, who gulped.

" 3, if I find out you have been lying I shall be very….angry. You do not want me angry."

Lara was just about to leave when she added, " Don't worry about the ice spell, darling," she purred, " it'll wear off in 4 hours. Just have a lot of hot water nearby."

Lara got in her car and drover off.

Lady Saint left privet drive and it wasn't the same again.

A/N What do you think ? Please leave a review


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer - I don't own Simon Templar, the Saint, one of the inspirations of the story, nor Harry Potter and Co.**

**The only thing I own is the story. That's it.**

**Lady Saint. **

**The Mistake. **

_One year later…_

Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was staring morosely out of his office window. It was a place he was becoming more accustomed to in the last few weeks than in the time he'd been headmaster of the magical school.

The Triwizard tournament had been a disaster - first Harry Potter, the supposed Boy who lived, had ended up as the 4th champion of the damn thing. The boy had just about survived the whole thing, even though he was stupid and now he and his idiot parents now had to come to terms with the outcome.

Lord Voldemort was back, and this time, he'd sent a message.

FLASHBACK.

Dumbledore and the spectators were watching the massive maze. There had been flashes signifying magic from wands, but since they couldn't see them it made it virtually impossible for anyone to know what was happening.

Lily and James Potter, along with Remus Lupin and Sirius Black were in the stands with him, along with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry's two best friends.

They were waiting for their son, nephew, godson and friend to come out, grinning, as he held the cup above his head.

Then, the maze went up in green flames. The crowd screamed as the dark mark went up in the sky and a tall, serpentine figure appeared.

Raising his wand to his mouth, he started speaking, " Spectators of the Triwizard tournament, I am Lord Voldemort," letting the screams die down after a bang from one of the death eaters, who'd just appeared along with their master, he continued.

" I bring with me proof, if ever be needed, that I can appear anywhere and any when. All of you have become complacent, even when proof appeared that my followers, who had no permission," the death eaters looked at the ground as the Dark lord said this dangerously, " to bring havoc to the world cup earlier in the year."

Voldemort smirked as he looked at the Potters and Dumbledore. " How does it feel, Lily, James and you Dumbledore, to know that you have mislaid the one to defeat me all those years ago. Harry Potter was not the one to defeat me, but his sister. I know she ran away, the boy was more than delighted to tell me after I ripped his pathetic mind apart. Some teaching you gave him, you old fool. What did you expect, that he could defeat the greatest wizard in the world with a tickling charm ?" The Dark wizard's voice had become taunting as the crowd assimilated the information, many screamed denials.

" Silence." At the Dark Lords order, they obeyed.

Voldemort held up his wand and a misty projection appeared, showing a wand pointed at two babies in a crib, there was a boy and a girl. They saw the wand pause, evidently choosing which child should be first. The wand pointed at the girl first. There was a flash of green and then, nothing.

The crowd gasped both in shock and in horror. They'd been worshipping the wrong child, Harry Potter wasn't anything special at all. It was his sister all along.

The Potters looked guilty. Lily collapsed to the ground, crying. Her husband tried to support her, even though he was close to doing the same thing. All this time the Potters had ignored their only daughter, now their son was probably dead and their daughter was missing.

The only thought they had was how they were going to change this. The only problem was that Lara Potter had had time to stew and learn to hate her family.

Voldemort appeared almost nonchalant as he generated another memory. " Behold, the real child who lived," He sneered at the title, not approving of it either way.

The memory showed a chubby boy with black hair and hazel eyes, being lavished with presents and a massive cake that would probably have caused a famine. Everyone looked happy, but the memory zeroed in on someone who wasn't; a small, pale little girl, with long black hair and dull green eyes. She wore clothes much too big for her.

The memory also showed James Potter drag the little girl out, looking really angry. The real James looked down, tears threatening to flood his eyes. How could he ? I was her father, I should've brought her in and sat her on my knee.

The memories grew worse, showing a family setting for 3, showing Christmases with masses of presents for one child instead of two.

The last memory nearly made the Potters sick - them and Dumbledore discussing getting rid of the girl and discovering she'd left taking everything with her.

Voldemort looked at the crowd and sneered. " Here we have it, ladies and gentlemen, the fabled Light side, arrogant, pompous, delusional. Someone tells you one thing and you believe it. The dark families would never abandon one of their own, especially on the word of a senile old fool. So you see, we are not your inferiors. We are your superiors."

The dark lord and the death eaters vanished, leaving the corpse of Harry Potter, the supposed boy who lived.

FLASHBACK ENDS.

Dumbledore held his face in his hands.

Breathing in and out slowly, the old wizard looked up and through the window, over the grounds and the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Right now he had priorities, finding Lara Potter and finding a way to get her into Hogwarts. That wouldn't be easy, he and the Potters had banished her from the school roster.

Dumbledore cursed himself for his stupidity, the letter would've given the address the girl lived at, making it possible for the Order to make contact with her.

Severus Snape hated Muggle London.

It wasn't the people, which other Death Eaters would certainly despise, it was the smell and the awful food and dull conversation he hated.

Unlike most of the Order of the Phoenix, however, Snape had been raised in the muggle world and knew how to move around without the need to dress as some sort of moron.

Severus also had another reason he hated the mission he and other muggle borns of the order had been given - looking for the New child who lived, emphasis on New.

Snape had despised the Potters, even Lily ever since she'd chosen Potter over him, even though it was his own fault after calling the girl a mud blood. He often wondered what would've happened if he'd kept his cool and pride, would he still have become a death eater and hung around with the likes of Avery and Mulciber ?

Snape hated being a death eater, but he hated being a puppet of Dumbledore and the Order. It galled the Slytherin that he was a man torn between two worlds.

It was at that point that he saw a girl who looked like Lily, except that she was black haired not red haired. The girl was wearing expensive and smart clothes, but it was her face that caught the wizard's attention, she had a mocking quality that Lily lacked, she was also seemed more suave and self assured in ways Lily just couldn't emulate.

Severus noticed the girl walking away and he ran to catch her up. In the last few weeks the wizarding world had been looking for Lara Potter and Snape was not losing her now.

Lara was walking towards a bar that she had an appointment at and was determined to not be late. She was determined to get this deal one way or another.

She was not unaware enough to know that she was being followed. Lara frowned and stretched out her magical senses, it was a trick she'd invented and one she used often.

Lara frowned as she realised the person following her was a magical, a wizard by the feel of it. Lara decided to turn the next corner and see what happened.

It wasn't long when she cursed, the wizard was still following her. Lady Saint stopped and took a deep breath, calming herself.

Lara wondered why a wizard was following her, she knew about the death eaters, but the information she'd gleaned hadn't told her whether or not the scum ventured into the non magical world and stalked young girls. If they did, they were dead.

Lady Saint decided to wait in the alley. Directly above.

Severus Snape neared the alleyway the dratted girl had walked down and paused enough to take out his wand, slowly he edged closer and jumped in.

The alleyway was empty. Snape was puzzled, the alley was a dead end and there was no way out, unless….unless the girl had somehow harnessed her powers without the ministry's knowledge. If so, the girl was not to be underestimated. He was about to search the alley, when a blur dropped down from 3 stories up and jumped on him, knocking the wand away.

Snape caught a glimpse of black hair and flashing green eyes.

Lady Saint kicked and punched him in the stomach and in the face, knocking him down. She picked him up by the neck and held him above the ground.

" Ok, wizard, yes I know what you are," she added at his look of surprise, " I want to know one or two things, ok ? First, why were you stalking me, because I hate stalkers, they make me irritable. Please don't insult my intelligence, that as well makes me irritable ?"

Lady Saint increased the pressure on the wizards throat, enjoying the way the wizard choked, " Well, tell me ? I'm waiting."

Snape coughed, " Your brother is dead, the dark lord has risen again and revealed the truth about the night he was banished."

Lara looked at him icily and Snape felt a shiver run down his spine. He'd thought that the girl would feel some grief on hearing her brother was dead.

" Why should that bother me, me and my brother never got on. I don't care about my family, I've had enough of the Potter family to last 4 lifetimes. What do you mean, the dark lord, if you can call a delusional racist a dark lord, revealed the truth about that night ?"

Lara didn't hide her hatred of that night, it was the night that her parents chose her brother instead of being impartial and the night her life changed from being pampered and treated like a human being to being ignored.

Snape coughed again, the air becoming more and more tricky to take in. Lara lost patience and was glad for the ward she'd put up on the alley.

" Tell me !"

" He showed a memory, the memory clearly showing him pointing the wand at you, not your brother." Snape gasped desperately.

Lara dropped him on the ground. " And now," she deduced slowly, " now my parents want me back, after treating me like dirt and a stranger in her own home as a child ?"

Suddenly, Lara was very angry, " Well they can keep their delusions, if they want me they can come and find me. I would very much like to see them grovelling at my feet, insincere smiles on their stupid faces."

She turned to Snape, " Get out of here. Take a message, if I ever see or feel one of you again, I will kill you. I will come into diagon alley and kill people. Now, clear off."

Snape was not scared by a lot of things, but this witch was scaring the life out of him.

Catch the girl be damned, he thought. If the Potters wanted her they could come and get her themselves.

He disapparated.

_Order headquarters._

" I bring this meeting to order," Albus Dumbledore spoke clearly in the Order of the Phoenix's new headquarters, Potter manor. The portraits of the past Potters were also at attention, listening to everything. James Potter had refused to cast silencing charms on them.

" For the past few weeks, we have been trying to look for Lara Potter. So far, no success…"

" Don't be so sure, Albus," Snape interrupted, striding into the room, ignoring the looks on the members faces.

" Ah Severus, my dear boy. Do sit down, what did you mean ?" Dumbledore spoke as if they were discussing the weather and not the whereabouts of a missing saviour.

Snape sat down, " I mean I found her ?"

Dumbledore looked around, " Is she here ?" He asked eagerly. He needed to impress the girl and make her look up to him as a mentor.

" Of course not, you fool, she found me and grabbed me by the throat and punched me in the face. Albus, she's dangerous.

Oh," He added at the Potters, " she doesn't care about her brothers death."

The two Potters were stricken by the news, but they weren't surprised.

Dumbledore tried to bring attention back to himself. " Severus, if you could show the memory,"

After showing the memory, the order were thinking about everything they'd seen. Lily and James were holding each other, both in fear and relief. Fear, that their daughter would take one look at them and beat them to death, relief that she was strong and powerful and not weak.

Lily was amazed by her daughter's appearance, she was beautiful, mature and assured. James was more impressed by the way she'd dealt with Snape.

Dumbledore was not exactly happy with the way the girl was - she should be forgiving and kind, not violent and dangerous.

He had a lot to do with her.

Snape interrupted, a smirk on his face, " If its any consolation, I have a solution. " he held up his hand and clutched in his closed hand was a fistful of hair.

Black hair.

Dumbledore and the rest of the order smirked as well. At last, a way to find her.

A/N - What do you think ?


	4. Chapter 4

**Lady Saint. **

**The Break in. **

Lara was feeling jumpier than normal. Lady Saint lived a life of constant pressure, constant danger and fear of discovery and imprisonment. Just because you covered your tracks didn't instantaneously mean you were safe all the time. There was always the possibility someone could break in, a kid perhaps, and find evidence that Lara was Lady Saint. Not a nice thing to happen to her.

But Lara knew and understood why she was jumpy. If it was as simple as the cops she wouldn't be so worried, she knew how to handle the police.

The Wizard she'd bumped into. Her aunt's basic description ( plus her own memories her niece had thoughtfully taken from her ) told Lady Saint exactly who the wizard had been.

Severus Snape.

Lady Saint knew the wizard only by reputation. He was a potions master and the teacher of potions at Hogwarts, plus he was the head of Slytherin house, whom he favoured.

He was also a Death eater.

That also beggared the question - if a death eater was working at Hogwarts, why was Dumbledore keeping him when he was a security risk ?

It had been a good 4 weeks since the incident but Lara was sure that wasn't the end of the matter. Her brother Harry was dead, not that Lara particularly cared, but he had been the boy who lived. Now, it turned out she was the one to defeat Lord Voldemort all those years ago.

Lara didn't care what the magical world was going through, but that didn't mean that she going to put up with them intruding on her life. Besides, she would've been dumb if she hadn't been aware of the wizards outside her house right that moment.

Outside the manor, the order was watching as Lara got into a car and drove off, closing the gates behind her and locking them securely.

Dumbledore glanced at Bill, who was concentrating and using his wand to try and break down the wards. The Order had been amazed to discover a number of highly dangerous, but practical wards on the manor.

Bill was concentrating hard for a moment, then he broke away, panting. " I can't…can't do it, the wards are too strong."

Dumbledore came up to him, his face friendly, even though he was masking his impatience. The girl was proving to be a sly one and a dangerous witch to boot. She was expected to be a light witch, but right now….

" What ever is the matter, William ?"

Bill turned to him, beads of sweat running down his face, " I don't know what you expected Dumbledore, but this girl is a genius. I can't identify the wards, they're too powerful. I'd say they were goblin wards, but they can't be because the goblins don't ward like this."

" how are the wards different ?" asked a puzzled Lily Potter. All she wanted was to hug her daughter to death.

Bill sighed, " Normal wizarding wards are basically barriers, held up by the family and the family head. They're easy to break. But this one is like an invisibility cloak. I can't tell where the ward begins or even where it ends. I know one thing, I daren't try and attack it. The ward itself is too powerful."

Dumbledore shook his head. " There is too much at stake. I will help you break the ward down, hopefully between us we can break the ward down completely to a point it'll collapse."

A small distance away, above them in the trees in fact, Lara was watching the group. She'd been watching them for a while, noting their numbers, preparing for a move. She almost laughed out loud at their pathetic attempts to bring her wards down.

Idiots, could they not tell that the ward structure was not the same as those of other witches and wizards ?

Apparently not.

Lara closed her eyes and focused her mind on the wards of the manor. They were not even being scratched let alone poised on the verge of collapse. The wards were holding their own.

Then Lara made a decision.

_Let them enter only the living room and the whole of the downstairs floor, do not let them go upstairs,_ she sent to the wards.

Bill Weasley was a professional curse breaker for Gringotts bank. The number of wards he'd broken down were endless, but even so he knew when the wards were supposed to come down. Ward breaking wasn't like laying siege to a castle's gates it was more complicated than that.

When he felt the wards of this manor break down, he was surprised. The wards themselves were incredibly complex and he applauded the way Lara potter had structured them. Why would they suddenly collapse then ?

Dumbledore's annoyingly cheerful voice broke in on his thoughts, " Congratulations, Mr Weasley. You've broken in."

The old man's eyes were twinkling brightly. So the girl wasn't as problematic as he'd suspected. This was going to be too easy. He didn't notice the suspicious looks Snape and indeed Lily Potter give the manor's walls.

Bill nodded, careful not to reveal his suspicions.

The order moved through the house and Lily and James took the time to learn something about their wayward daughter. She certainly lived well. The manor wasn't as opulent as Potter Manor, that manor was filled with fine furniture and heirlooms and souvenirs the Potter family had gathered over the centuries. This place was simpler, more Spartan. There was only the smallest necessities of life, the colours were darker - purples, blues and green with red.

Lily was looking around the living room looking with Hermione Granger, who was looking carefully through the drawers of a dresser. There were pictures of Lara on the wall along with friends, there was one with her wearing the graduation robes of Salems school. She looked a happy with her friends.

" That could pose a problem," Dumbledore's voice said from behind her.

Lily turned round to face the headmaster, " How could it be a problem ?"

" I was hoping we could persuade her to attend Hogwarts, the Ministry is also thinking of doing that. This picture proves it cannot be done." Dumbledore said, not liking this new information.

He'd hoped that once at Hogwarts he could wear down the girl into accepting him as a mentor, but the way she stood there in that damned photograph, her eyes the same hard and mocking quality Severus had described during the last meeting, those eyes seemed to say, " Gottcha."

James had by this point come in and saw the pictures of his daughter sitting on a beach, riding a horse, swimming with whales and sharks and the one of her in the Salem school's graduation robes, just looking at her in those robes and holding that scroll made him upset. Every Potter had attended Hogwarts, all except Lara. The potters had written her off the school roster and now were regretting that decision. Voldemort revealing the truth had ripped a gaping wound in the two Potters, they had been hoping that they could persuade Lara to go to Hogwarts and live a normal life with them.

That picture was ruining his hopes and prayers.

The rest of the order was looking around, Tonks herself had bumped and knocked down 3 plants in just a small amount of time. Molly Weasley had wandered into the kitchen, Arthur Weasley was literally pissing himself at the muggle appliances, but he couldn't touch them, just like his wife couldn't fiddle with the cooker and microwave.

The order all walked into the living room where the Potters and Dumbledore were sitting, looking like they belonged here.

" We now need to wait, I believe Lara will be coming back soon," Dumbledore said.

" Damn right I'm coming back, in fact I'm already here."

The order jumped at the sound of the voice. They looked around to see a tall, black haired woman wearing a pair of muggle jeans and t shirt. They didn't need to confirm her identity, she looked so much like Lily it was scary, but it was her eyes that were different.

They were icy and fiery at the same time.

They didn't notice her holding something in her hand…

Dumbledore stood up, hand outstretched and a smarmy smile on his face, " Lara, my dear girl…."

He was brutally interrupted by Lara pointing something at him, Hermione, Snape and Lily all recognised the weapon as a gun, but Dumbledore, being a pure blood wizard, ignored the danger. The stupid man kept walking, the fool smile still on his face, until there was a pfft noise.

Dumbledore suddenly let out a yelp as he held on to his hand, a graze on it.

Lara pointed the gun at the order, who had their wands out.

" Don't move and try not to damage my possessions, like the stupid pink haired metamorphamagus did. Yes, I know what you are, your hair kept changing colours as you clumsily walked through my home," she added at the look of shock on the faces of the order.

Lara looked at all of them, contempt on her face, " Did you really think I was going to rely on such a crude method of defending my home ? Are you really that thick ? I told the wards to let you in, so then I could cripple one or two of you. By the way, don't point your wands at me, there is a dampening field around this manor that is keyed to my own magic. You can't perform any magic of any kind." She smiled.

Ron Weasley decided to prove he was a powerful wizard by that point. He aimed his wand at Lara and shouted " Stupefy !"

Nothing happened.

Lara smirked, " idiot. I know you, yeah, you're my late idiot brothers former friend, you and the bushy haired girl. What did you expect, did you expect me to be so vulnerable that I would become your friend ? I don't make friends with morons or bookworms."

The contempt in Lara's voice brought them all up. This was not how they'd expected this to go, they'd assumed Lara would welcome her parents with open arms.

Remus tried to move close to her, only for the gun to be brought to bear on him, " Don't. I don't know why you think breaking into my home is a wise move, but I can tell you this, its one of the last mistakes you'll ever make."

Lara turned round to face Dumbledore, " Why did you come ?"

Dumbledore decided to try and gain some control of the situation and persuade the girl to come with them.

" We need you back in the magical world, your parents are grieving for the loss of their son, your brother -."

" No they're not, your little puppet told me the truth, he told me that stupid moron of a dark lord pointed the wand at me, not my useless brother. My parents cared for only one thing when I last saw them as a child. Fame. They couldn't stand me because I didn't have a cut on my forehead. Did it not occur to you, not ever, to see whether I had a mark on my body ? I did. I had it removed, killing the parasite instantly." Lara said, enjoying the looks of shock on the order and especially, Dumbledore's faces.

Dumbledore tried to bluff, " You must attend Hogwarts for your education Lara. You wouldn't want to go through life without an education in magic now would you ?"

Lara looked at him as if he was a lunatic, " I saw your face as you looked at the picture of me wearing the graduation robes of Salem's school for sorcery. Besides, you and my dear parents didn't seem to care when you wrote me off the school roster for Hogwarts when I was 5 years old. Oh yes, did you not think I didn't know ? Pity your authority only allows you to do something like that at Hogwarts, Magical America would prosecute you if you tried that with them."

Lara sneered at her parents, " idiots. Did you really think I wouldn't have been educated ? Besides, you can't take custody of me. Ever. I'm emancipated now, thanks to the president of magical America. I did the Americans a few favours a few years back. They were more than happy to help, especially after I gave them memories of what you two fools did along with Dumbledore."

Lily burst into tears at that point, self loathing filling every pore in her body, whilst Lara looked on, unaffected by her mother's tears.

She turned to face Dumbledore, " As for you, why did you decide to break into my house ? Is that what you people do in this stupid country, break in to people's homes to persuade them to come to the magical world ?"

Lara didn't wait for a response, she pointed her gun in Lily's face, " Stop crying, you don't deserve that right in front of me."

" Get out of my house." She ordered.

James decided to try and make amends, but deep down he knew it was hopeless. Lara had already shown she was unforgiving and didn't want to have anything to do with the magical world. But he had to try, no matter what Dumbledore wanted.

Dumbledore had a different idea about Lara but all James wanted was to cuddle the girl and try and fill the gaping hole in his heart. Lily was still crying but not as hard as before.

" Lara, please…." he trailed off, only to be interrupted brutally.

" Please. Please daddy, don't shut me in a dark room. I can't see. Please mummy, please don't take my teddy bear. He's the only friend I actually have," Lara mocked in a childlike voice.

Her voice hardened, " Please. Please. That's all I said to you, wasn't it ?"

Lara took a deep breath. She was going to enjoy this, even though it was wrong. " Did poor beautiful sweet Harry die painfully, without his mummy and daddy to cuddle him ?"

Hermione shouted angrily, " how dare you ? Have you no heart ? Your parents are heartbroken enough as it is without you mocking them!"

Lara glared at her, " I do have a heart, thankfully it recovered from the pain and grief it suffered from my dear parents neglect. Heartbroken, I don't think so. For one thing, they don't have hearts that can be broken. They've been feeding off my brother's fame and adulation since the cradle. Now the truth is revealed they want me in the spotlight, so they can feed off me the same way a leech feeds on blood."

Lara faced both her parents, who were trying to hold back their tears. " I don't know what you people hoped to achieve here today, but you didn't achieve it. You've lost everything, you've thrown away your individuality in favour of the word of an old moron with a penchant for not investigating and getting the full facts before making a decision. You are everything I despise, the worst sin of individuality."

Lara decided at that point to reveal who she was. She turned to Hermione, " You're a muggle born yes ?"

Hermione wasn't sure what to make of the Potter girl, other than the fact she despised the Potters, so her question surprised the bushy haired witch.

" Yes," She replied softly, wondering where Lara was going with this.

" Have you ever heard of….Lady Saint ?" Lara asked quietly.

Hermione was even more puzzled, even though the rest of the order was puzzled, " Of course I have, she's a master criminal and thief."

Lara pretended to look like she was complimented. " Why, thank you. I do believe you've made me blush. Have I blushed darling ?"

Hermione stared at her in disbelief, " You are Lady Saint ? You ?"

" Look in the top right hand draw of the dresser."

Hermione walked slowly towards the dresser and opened the draw. She took out a scrapbook and opened it.

Inside was a number of newspaper, magazine and police reports. All of them related to Lady Saint.

Hermione looked up at Lara, her face now fearful. " You…you really are…her…aren't you ? You are Lady Saint ?"

James wanted answers and he wanted them right now, " Excuse me, we don't understand this. Who is Lady Saint ?"

Lara looked over at Hermione, " Tell them, tell them who I am."

Hermione gulped. " Lady Saint is a master criminal. She's an assassin, a cat burglar, a vigilante and crime fighter. She's also stolen priceless works of art. Last I heard it was the Mona Lisa. It was returned after 3 months."

Hermione finished up, " She destroyed an entire crime family, killing the lot, whilst proving their criminal activities. She is also relentless, resourceful and determined."

Lily looked at her daughter, her eyes puffy and red with tears, " You're a thief ?"

Dumbledore also piped in, " You are a killer ?", his voice judgemental.

Lara sneered, her face not showing remorse for her actions. " How else was I to survive in the world ? I was alone, in the cold, with no shelter. I had no support of any kind. Oh, once or twice I would encounter gangs that were kind enough to take me in. I learnt the tricks of the trade from them. I learnt about every criminal, every connection in London and a good number of other cities around the world. Over the years, I had no choice but to kill. Its kill or be killed, Dumbledore. Besides, who are you to judge me ? Name one powerful wizard who hasn't killed. Merlin, the founders, did they too not kill ?"

Lara breathed in, " You have no right to judge me, now get out."

The order vanished as the wards banished them from the property. Lara closed her eyes and reigned in her anger and breathed in and out slowly.

That wasn't a pleasant meeting.

A/n What do you think ?


	5. Chapter 5

**Lady Saint.**

**The Potter's decision. **

It had been 2 days since the order broke in to her house and in that time Lara had had time to think. She didn't regret what she'd said and done, no, her parents and the order had needed to know exactly where she was coming from.

Lara hated being treated like a child, it came from the upbringing she'd had. She'd needed to grow up quickly, at the Potters she'd been ignored and when she wasn't then she was being treated like a stray dog. On the streets, she'd needed to put aside any morality she had in order to survive and to fend for herself.

Lady Saint didn't like guns or knives, but they were one of the few languages thugs and murderers actually understood. Death was a part of everyday life, people like Dumbledore just couldn't accept that if you save the life of a murderer, you're more than likely to get yourself murdered one way or another.

It was a vicious circle, but it was the law of the jungle.

Lara poured for herself some orange juice, grateful the Weasley woman hadn't tried touching any of the appliances or even going as far as pouring some kind of potion into her food and drink. She remembered the woman as one having a big mouth and an annoying habit of opening her mouth and shouting at the top of her voice. Which was one of the many reasons she'd silenced the Weasley women. She remembered Ginny, always staring at her brother with something like lust.

It was creepy, a small child, not even a teenager looking at a boy with lust. It just wasn't normal, but then again the people the Potters associated with were hardly normal were they ?

Love potion, Lara had suspected, wondering how anyone could be so stupid as to put it in a child's food.

As she looked over the gardens of her home, she had to admit that killing Lord Voldemort had an appeal. Why else would Dumbledore himself attend a meeting in a house he had no place being in ?

It hadn't been hard to deduce.

The only problem was how was she going to do it. She remembered only to well the parasite which the Americans had removed. They'd told her - more or less - what it was.

A horcrux.

A soul container. Lara "hmmed" to herself, wondering how she was going to put that right.

Reaching a decision, she reached for her laptop and went to the contacts. The American wizarding world had come into the 20th century years ago and were now sending W - mail - wizard's mail over a special internet they'd made.

As soon as she got the one she wanted, she tapped in a message and after a while read it through and then sent it.

It would take 2 days to get the information, so she decided to go for Gringotts. The goblins may be cunning and slightly irritating, but they were smart. If anyone knew about the horcruxes, it was them.

_Later that evening._

Lara returned from the trip to the alley and sat down and looked at her bookshelf in contemplation thoughtfully. The meeting with the goblins had been…informative to say the least.

They could find the soul pieces and destroy them - for a price. That was the part that Lady Saint understood and had expected.

Goblins never do anything without a price.

Lady Saint knew that she could never pay for the full fee with her own cash, so she made a deal. The Death eaters were composed of incredibly rich aristocrats who pranced about, preaching they were pure. In actual truth they were animals. The cultured - which was a lie, since none of the so called pure bloods had ever left the magical confines of Britain - wizards were actually a façade since they were murderers and rapists.

Lady Saint had arranged for the Goblins to take their money.

It wasn't an easy negotiation, since they'd pointed out that the wizards were still alive. Lara had smiled and said that things changed.

The goblins didn't react the way the order would. Dumbledore and the others would have tried to redeem the Death eaters, but from what she knew of them they could not be redeemed and those that thought they could should be placed in a lunatic asylum.

Lady Saint was well aware of the Death eaters. They were animals, rapists, murderers and terrorists, they were not human and Dumbledore, being a deluded old fool, couldn't see that.

What was needed was intense planning.

Lady Saint leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

_Order of the Phoenix headquarters._

The Order of the Phoenix was almost in session, the members who were around in the manor were chatting with one another. The potter portraits were watching the scene with a mixture of contempt and concern. Contempt for the people, including James and Lily, who were involved in the idiotic mess that Dumbledore called a vigilante group.

The Potter were an old light magical family, older and richer than the Blacks and Malfoy families combined, they were the cream of power in the light side. But that seemed to be going down hill when Dumbledore pushed his weight on Lily and James. The portraits had watched as one of the twins was elevated onto a pedestal and was virtually worshipped by everyone, whilst the other twin was neglected and alone, a prisoner in a world she could see, but never touch.

The portraits saw the girl as a powerful witch, she was able to perform feats that her own brother was incapable of. She was highly intelligent and they saw the determination, the fire, the ice, the rage in the girl. They saw her reading books everyday because they were her only friends.

When she left, leaving her uncaring parents and brother, the portraits were saddened. Lara Potter had had the potential to become the greatest witch in the world, not that she still didn't of course. She'd even been lectured on potions, charms, transfiguration, necromancy and other magical arts by some of the oldest portraits in the manor and she seemed to understand each and everyone of the principles involved, she was that smart.

Now Lara Potter was found and from what the order and her parents said, a thief. That wasn't a surprise, Lara had taken only a small amount of cash with her when she left, they knew it wouldn't have lasted. Suppose someone stole it from her, a vulnerable girl ?

They understood, whilst the order didn't, that in order to survive the harshness of the world, you need to let go of some of you preconceptions of the world.

Charlus and Dorea Potter, James' parents were ashamed. Of all the portraits, they were the ones closer to the present head of the family.

Charlus had been furious about the way his own son treated his infant daughter, if he and his wife had still been alive, there was no way in hell James would've become Head of the family. Even if it was his right.

When Harry and Lara were growing up, Charlus had had the opportunity to witness first hand the way his grandson treated his own sister. Sibling rivalry was one thing, getting her into trouble like that was another. James and Lily had hit the girl, not a smack but a hit.

Then there was Harry, now he was useless. How his parents thought he was a great wizard and would make a fine head of the family Charlus didn't and probably wouldn't understand.

Dorea's thoughts were similar to those of her husband, she'd watched as her precious granddaughter was shunted to the side and watched as her grandson was put in a position he didn't deserve.

All the portraits agreed wholeheartedly that Harry Potter had been a useless brainless moron. He was beyond useless and he was ignorant and dull.

The Potter portraits also disapproved of the presence of the Order of the Phoenix. It wasn't that they were against the idea of fighting the present day Dark lord, oh no, they wanted him stopped. But there was a limit, like the fact that the Order just came, sat, ate, had meetings and just generally did nothing.

They couldn't help but shake their heads at the way the light side vigilante groups plans now seemed to revolve around the idea that Lara should be captured and contained inside a room in the manor. The portraits thought that Lily and James could sink no lower than they already had.

Capturing Lara was one thing, imprisoning her was another. What did they think she was, an animal on the loose ?

They were shaken from their musings by Dumbledore's voice.

" Order, order. This meeting is now in session."

The order sat down and looked to their leader for what he was going to say.

" 2 days ago, we went and spoke to Miss Lara Potter. The results shocked us and made me realise that the girl is too far gone than I'd feared."

The order muttered to themselves whilst the portraits wondered what the old fool was saying.

Dumbledore carried on, " We discovered that Lara is a thief, a criminal and a murderer in the muggle world." He paused whilst the order went on saying the girl was dark and should be contained for her own good.

" For this reason, I have asked Miss Hermione Granger to come and address the order on a history of the criminal Lara is. Miss Granger."

Hermione stood up, nervous. " I don't know too much, Professor. No one knows much about Lady Saint."

She held up a newspaper with the headline, " PRICELESS DIAMOND TIARA STOLEN !"

Below it was a picture of the tiara in question and another picture, the picture of a stickwoman with a halo on her head.

Hermione pointed at the stickwoman, " That is Lady Saint's calling card, she leaves it behind on all her robberies and she isn't necessarily a murderer, headmaster," she added looking at Dumbledore sharply, " Some of the people she's killed were more evil that she could be."

Dumbledore glowered at her.

Hermione carried on, " Lady Saint appeared some years ago, there was no warning. She stole a good 4 priceless jewels and portraits. At the time people thought she was just an ordinary thief. Then she started robbing banks, some of them owned by the mob."

" The what, sorry ?" Arthur asked, confused. Some of the portraits rolled their eyes, some of them knew about muggle life and whilst Arthur, obsessed with muggles, didn't go and find out for himself was anyone's guess.

" The mob. Criminal gangs and families. The banks were just broken in, there was no sign of forced entry. Nothing. It was like she just walked in and took the lot late at night."

Lily wasn't interest in that, but even she could see what her daughter had accomplished. " When did she start killing people ?"

Hermione was thoughtful. " It was a paedophile, someone who sexually abuses children. Yes," she added, noting the looks of disgust and horror on the faces of the Order, " it does happen. She tracked a man called Barker down and found him raping a 3 year old boy. She castrated him, incinerated a good portion of his skin and gouged his eyes out. He was lucky, he could've been killed. In fact, he died in hospital, although if you ask me he shouldn't have been let out on the streets." Hermione said angrily, angry at the people who let him out.

Hermione looked at her headmaster, " She saved the life of the boy and returned him to his parents, that made headline news," she held said paper up, showing a hysterical woman hugging the life out of a masked woman in black. Everyone could see how uncomfortable the woman was. "I don't think anyone should have the right to judge her. She saved his life and the lives of dozens of people. There was a pair of unscrupulous burglars who once stole a donation for a children's hospital and she recovered the lot, even adding a good $6.5 million to the lot."

Dumbledore looked around the faces of the order. It wasn't good, these people were supposed to support the idea that Lara Potter was a criminal and as such needed to be brought back into the light.

It was at that moment Charlus Potter spoke up, " Doesn't look good, does it Dumbledore ? You want to paint a picture of my granddaughter, but the colours wont match will they ? Who are you to judge her ?" He turned in his painting to speak to his son.

" And you, you who claim to miss her. You want to turn your own daughter into a prisoner. A prisoner in her family's own home, all on the word of an idiot who doesn't see that in order to survive you must be prepared to make sacrifices."

James protested, " But father-"

" No buts. First you neglect her, treat her badly, ignore her and give that undeserving little punk more than he should've had. If I was still alive James I would cast you out and take Lara as the new heir of the family. More to the point, she should be the newest heiress of the family, especially since she was first born but you made sure that precious little Harry was given the role."

" How can you say that ? We miss Lara and want her back in our lives," Lily proclaimed, tears streaming down her face.

Dorea sneered at her and the rest of the order, " You have a funny way of showing it, first you break into her home without trying to contact her and setting up a meeting, second, you believe being a thief is a bad thing, don't you people realise that Lara needed to survive on the streets, especially since you lot were talking about kicking her out of the family. Third, you lot talk about locking her up without trying to find out whether or not she wants to even come to our world."

Molly Weasley opened her mouth, " She must stay in our world. Ronnie needs a good wife -"

Dorea interrupted the weasley matron, noticing the look of shock on Hermione's face, " I don't think you have any right or say in my granddaughter's rights. You are you to decide for her ? You aren't a member of our family and Lara can't stand any of yours."

Molly was determined to get her own way, " I'm sure we can become friends."

Dorea looked at Lily, who was looking elsewhere, " Is this what being a Potter has come to, being told who to marry and being locked away in a room just because she needed to survive because no one was willing to help her ? I liked you Lily, now I can't stand the sight of you."

The meeting had dwindled, everyone had heard about Lady Saint and what she'd been doing but no one could make a decision on what to do about it. The majority, hearing about the way she'd saved the life of an innocent child felt Dumbledore had gotten it wrong. The same majority, which now included Lily and James, realised that forcing the girl into a relationship with someone she didn't know was just wrong.

The others, Molly Weasley for instance, felt that Lara should be brought in to the manor and locked away whilst they pecked away at her defences.

Lily Potter walked through the corridors of the manor, lost in thought. She had no idea where she was going until she came by a door on the 6th floor.

Lara's room. Her heart clenched as she looked at the simple cream coloured door in a darkened passageway. Lily's hand went to the door, she paused gathering her shattered courage.

As she walked in she realised that not once did she ever come in and tuck her daughter in bed, never read her a story, never brushed or braided her hair.

Lily took a look around the Spartan environment and broke down sobbing.

They had no right, she realised, no right to get involved in Lara's life. Molly had no right making plans for the only child she had left.

As she sobbed she remembered every time she'd spent with Lara, and they were few and far between. Those times faded away with the attack on Halloween.

Lily cursed, cursed herself, cursed the order and the never ending war on the darkness, cursed Dumbledore for his presumption and his seemingly fanatical desire to lock Lara away, cursed Voldemort for being the catalyst that tore their family apart.

What have I done ? Lily thought to herself desperately. As she sobbed, James walked in, he'd been looking for his wife for the best part of half an hour.

James was still reeling from the meeting, where Dumbledore was going on and on that his daughter, his only living child was now a thief and needed to be brought back, by force if necessary, to the light. The accusations of the former Potters having finally driven the nail home at last, the present head of the ancient and noble house of Potter finally seeing the truth, the truth about Lara and the life she was leading. It wasn't evil necessarily but it wasn't what he'd pictured when the twins were born.

The meeting had opened his eyes, revealing that Dumbledore had already passed judgement over his only child, his daughter. It also opened his eyes to the Weasleys, the look on Ron's face at the idea of Lara becoming his wife made him want to vomit and decapitate the greedy little bastard.

He and Lily needed to see that their little girl was safe.

The next morning, the Order were seated for breakfast, Dumbledore was seated at one end of the circular table, eating serenely like he didn't have a war to plot and wage with the darkness. James clenched his jaw with anger, the Order no longer had any right being here.

He and Lily were tired having to get to bed later than usual due to a very long talk. They knew and accepted the consequences of their new decisions. But they would not let their only child become a wife to a greedy pig whose only interests were Quidditch, girls and tits and food. Nor were they going to let her become a prisoner in her own ancestral home.

The two Potters walked up to Dumbledore who looked up at them with a smile and twinkling eyes, " Ah, Lily, James, please sit down and tuck in, your house elves have outdone themselves yet again."

" Get out of our home."

At those words, everyone looked up in shock.

Dumbledore was dumbfounded, " I beg your pardon ?"

James snarled angrily, " You heard me, get out of our home. You're no longer wanted," he looked at the faces around him, " all of you. Get out. We, the Potters, quit the order of the phoenix."

As soon as he said those words the Potter portraits started cheering.

" Thank Merlin,"

" Well done kid,"

Dumbledore stopped that though.

" ENOUGH ! Lily, James, we need you and the resources of your family-"

" No, you want to lock our only living child left. She's only trying to survive in a world you don't understand. You've already killed one of our children."

Dumbledore was dumbfounded again, " You blame me for Harry's death ?"

Lily screeched, " Of course we do, you manipulated us as well. Because of you our daughter has grown up without love, without her parents. All because you, Albus fucking Dumbledore believes he was right."

Dumbledore tried again to persuade the couple, he needed them in order to bring Lara back to the light. But James was having none of it.

" I, James Potter, head of the ancient and noble house of Potter, do hereby expel the Order of the phoenix out of the family home forever."

With a flash, everyone, including Remus and Sirius vanished.

Lily and James held on to one another.

Both of them were thinking that this was a piece of cake compared to what was coming next.

Getting their daughter's forgiveness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer. How many times do I have to write ? I don't own the Saint or Harry Potter. If I did I'd be a rich man.**

**Pity.**

**Alliance.**

Lily woke up from, for her, was the most relaxing night of her life. The recent years, being allied to Dumbledore, working for the order of the phoenix, Harry's death, Lara….

The last two still hurt her the most. When they'd been born the Potter's had dotted on them shamelessly and then Dumbledore had to go and mess everything up by telling them the prophecy. The bloody prophecy, she cursed to herself, not only did they spoil and ruin their son, they'd destroyed themselves and ruined Lara's life.

When Harry had been named the boy who lived both Lily and James had been overwhelmingly proud and put him on a pedestal, pushing his sister out of the way in the process. Both Lily and James had been inconsolable when they'd discovered the truth, not only because they'd realised their mistakes in raising Harry but in the way Lara was treated.

Was it any reason the girl despised them ?

Then there was Dumbledore, couldn't the man have simply left them alone ?

No.

The man had poked and prodded his way in their lives, making them think their son was more important than their sister and them, her own parents….

Had agreed.

Lily sat up and buried her face in her propped up knees. It was a repeat to what she had suffered with Petunia, really. Her elder sister had always been jealous of her. Lily was beautiful whilst Petunia was ugly, Lily was smart and willing to learn, Petunia was petty and whilst smart, never truly learned anything useful.

She'd married a thuggish moron with the brain the size of walnut, her son was no better. Lily had visited her once the truth had come out and discovered that Lara and Petunia HAD met and found that her sister was more terrified of her niece than she was of her sister.

Lily on the other hand had married a handsome young man, gave birth to two beautiful children and, and she'd thrown it all away.

_The Potter dining hall._

James Potter munched on his toast in the dining hall, relishing the calm and lack of noise in the house. Since the Order had taken to being in his family home, nothing had remained sacred. The Weasleys had taken to going to rooms where they were not welcome, they ate more food than was necessary and they didn't seem to understand that they were not allowed in certain parts of the manor.

Now, today, hearing no noise, no Molly Weasley shouting and bossing everyone including his wife was a blessing and a dream come true.

James was also thinking about two things - Lily and Lara, at the moment the most important women in his life. One was with him, the other was not. One was a charms mistress, the other a thief.

He was worried about Lily, all last night he'd heard her tossing and turning in her part of the bed and when he'd gotten up he'd heard her sobbing.

He knew it had something to do with Lara and if he was honest he could truly say he didn't blame her. When the twins had been born James Potter felt like he could conquer the world. Then Voldemort had attacked, he and Lily had been knocked aside and both children had been affected.

Harry had been put on a pedestal he didn't deserve and Lara had been pushed away by almost everybody who knew her, all except the house elves and the Potter portraits.

When the truth came out about that night and when the truth about Lara and what she'd been doing since she'd run away came out James wasn't sure what to do. There was no one to blame since the list was too long for that anyway.

Unlike his former friends, who had decided to follow Dumbledore instead of helping the Potters, James had had time to think and discuss things with the family portraits. They'd told him that Lara had taken only a small amount of gold with her and that it wouldn't have lasted if she wanted to survive. There were two options for her, 1, she would earn money by working or becoming a child prostitute or 2, simply become a thief and renounce her magical heritage.

The fact she'd gone to a magical school told him something about Lara, she'd done it deliberately to spite him and the family. All the Potters had gone to Hogwarts in the past, but Lara had been written off the roster and so she had no choice but had to go elsewhere. At the time James had done it simply because Dumbledore had asked him to, not even stopping to think about the consequences or the worrying idea that was starting to nag the head of potter house that the old man had been poking his mind in places they shouldn't belong.

The photo had also told James something else, Lara, unlike Harry, was resourceful and tough. But then he already knew that. He'd done research into Lady Saint, though why she would call herself that was beyond his comprehension. Lady Saint had been eluding police forces around the globe for Merlin knew how long, she was always a step or 2 ahead of the police and didn't seem to leave anything to chance.

James wondered how either he or Harry or indeed Lily would've done in Lara's place. James and Lily might've been able to pull some of Lara's abilities off, leaving nothing to chance and leaving no way for Dumbledore to interfere in her affairs, which also lead to a question he'd have to ask Lara when he saw her next.

Did she already know that she was the one to survive Voldemorts' attack and her alone ?

If so the implications were staggering.

James returned to his old thought of whether or not he or any members of his family would've survived Lara's life style and concluded Harry wouldn't.

_Later on._

Lily and James were standing outside Lara's home. Both Potters looked at the manor and saw it was lifeless but they both wondered whether or not their daughter was inside.

Lily looked nervously at her husband, who was in the same position she was.

" Well, here goes." She said nervously, pressing the intercom button. Closing her eyes for a second Lily breathed in and out, praying that this was going to go well.

" Lara ? Are you in ? please, let us in, we've left the order of the phoenix. We, your father and I, want to make it up to you." Lily looked at the manor, her eyes watering. Moving her mouth back to the speaker she kept on.

" Lara, we need to talk. We need…oh go, we need to do a lot more. We need to move on. Please, let us in."

There was no answer and, grief stricken, the two Potters looked at the manor and decided to come back later.

As they turned they found a gun in their faces.

" I don't believe you." Lara Potter said to them grimly.

_Inside Lara's home._

Lara stood over the kitchen table at her two unwanted visitors. The fact they were both her parents made it much worse for the thief.

" I thought I made it very clear last time I wanted nothing to do with you. Why are you here ?"

Lily and James looked at one another, this wasn't what they'd had in mind when they got to this. They'd hoped Lara would be curious enough to let them inside, not stand behind them with a weapon which would put a killing curse to shame and was reusable.

James decided to take the reins, " Lara, it's true. We've left the order, they were planning to capture you and lock you up."

Mistaking his daughter's silence he carried on,

" We left when they wouldn't listen to reason. We kicked them out, renounced our position because you are more important."

Lara's face was set in stone as she pointed the gun directly in James's face. Lily gasped, expecting the next sound to be a gunshot.

But she needn't have worried.

" I already know. I placed a listening charm in the meeting rooms of the Order. Reading minds is not something I take for granted."

Lara sat down but kept both eyes on her parents.

" The Order attacked me yesterday, Dumbledore lead the attack. Those 2 morons that were friends with my brother tried to get involved."

Lily was almost afraid to ask, " What happened ?"

Lara shrugged as if the matter meant nothing to her but in fact it worried her a great deal. " I was in London, investigating a possible Death eater attack. I wanted to make sure. The death eaters have been attacking London quite a bit recently but they haven't sent the mark into the sky, besides this attack was unusual."

James looked at her strangely. It made sense Lara knew about the death eaters, even though she'd renounced the wizarding world he knew enough to know she was intensely curious.

" In what sense ?"

Lara sat down and started to explain. " I don't know how to describe it. Normally they attack places of value, railway stations, shopping malls, bridges that sort of thing. They don't attack back alleys. I have magical detectors around London, I set them up ages ago for tracking and killing death eaters."

Lily was struggling to understand, " I thought you'd renounced the magical world."

" I have, but that doesn't mean that I don't keep myself informed. There was always a possibility that the magical world would discover that I was the one to defeat the dark wanker, with that in mind I made contingency plans. Besides, thanks to certain….information I know exactly who the death eaters are. But these attacks…they just don't make sense. The only people you find in those places are scum. Why would death eaters bother with them ?"

James looked thoughtfully at a spot on the table. " Maybe Voldemort's planning an attack."

Lara snorted, " Where, a sewer ?" Then, she clapped a hand to her mouth, " Or maybe, he's planning to use the alleyways to pour his soldiers into the normal world and kill people that way."

It was plausible James thought to himself, he was also interested in where Lara got her hands on information like this. It was no secret that death eaters like Lucius Malfoy claimed they were under the imperious curse, but it also made sense that Voldemort might use the alleyways to attack Muggle London as well.

James and Lily had to admit their daughter's knowledge, unlike Dumbledore's, was shrewd and well informed.

Lily looked thoughtful as she asked her daughter where she got the information.

" I stole it." Lara replied.

_Lara's manor._

It was agreed that Lara would return to Potter manor, not like she had much choice. The Order were sure to be watching Lara's home and it was now known she hated the Potters.

It was the last thing they were suspecting.

Lily and James would be lying if they said they weren't looking forward to this. This was a god given opportunity to learn about their mysterious child and find out more about her.

For the time being they packing away all the necessities Lara would need. Both Potters were astonished by the array of weapons Lara had stocked - pistols, machine guns of various kinds, knives, grenades, daggers, darts and others. But there was a lot more.

There were medical kits with a strange mixture of muggle and magical medicines.

There were also weird devices - a pair of silver black gauntlets with runes on them and a crossbow with a self filling quiver.

Lily held on to one of the guns, her job was packing away the ammunition into boxes that would be shrunk into a chest and she was examining it when she saw something weird.

" What's this ?"

" What's what ?" her daughter replied, walking over to her.

" These runes on the side and what looks like an arithmancy formula engraved." Lily had done arithmancy for her OWLS and NEWTS at Hogwarts years ago, but she had never seen anything like this before.

Lara took the gun and looked at the formula. She smiled. " Magical enhancements."

" Huh ?"

Lara looked at her parents, James had just come over, hoping to learn something about his only living child.

" There was always a possibility I'd encounter enemies with weapons I couldn't fight against, so I custom designed weapons that they couldn't fight against. Father, you're an Auror, yes ?"

James nodded, wishing she'd call him dad instead of the more formal father.

" Right," Lara held up the gun, " What chance do you think wizards would have against a bullet ?"

Lily's face took on a look of dawning comprehension, " I see. The bullets are magically enhanced, they'd penetrate a death eaters shield and then…" she faltered.

" Go on."

" The death eater would be killed."

" Of course."

" Dumbledore said that if we kill, we'd be no better than them."

Lara snorted. " American police officers kill dangerous criminals. They HELP people whilst murderers kill innocents. Same principal."

James shook his head vehemently, " No."

Lara sneered at them. " It's that attitude that makes it easy for dark lords to rise. You people are so pathetic your locked in rules of morality. The Luftwaffle, the German air force bombed a Spanish town as a test. Did people abandon air forces ?

No, why ? Air forces are valuable, they gather intelligence and can bomb targets more readily than infantry."

" We are not muggles, we're wizards." James said with pride.

" Wizards, you think you are so superior."

Lara pointed a gun at her father. " I dare you to try and escape this."

She fired the gun.

A/N. I'M SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. MY COMPUTER CONTRACTED A NASTY VIRUS. DON'T YOU HATE ALL THOSE FAKE ANTIVIRUS SCAMS ? WHAT A MESS ? WORSE, IT DELETED MOST OF MY STORIES.


	7. Chapter 7

**Surprise, Surprise.**

Lily screamed, sure that her husband would die.

James himself expected to collapse and fall to the ground without having a chance to defend himself. All the memories of his life - his childhood, Hogwarts, pranks on students and teachers alike, Sirius, Remus, Harry and Lara's birth, Voldemort's cowardly attack, Wormtail's betrayal, Lara flashed through his mind so fast he couldn't assimilate it.

He remembered one thing, a movie he'd seen with his in laws. Kelly's heroes and remembered the sheer brutality of some of the scenes. He imagined he'd wind up like one of those German soldiers shot down by Oddball's tank machine gun.

A shield went up around his body and the bullet impacted, making a sound like a gong.

Lara shook off her stance and held the gun loosely in her hand, her eyes hard as she looked at her father with contempt.

" Surprise, surprise."

Lily was furious, she'd been so sure that her husband would go just like her son. All because of Lara.

" How can you do that ?"

" Did you honestly think that I wouldn't ensure this room was secure ? This room has multiple sourced magical shields, preventing fire and reinforcing integrity of the manor. All my homes have a room like this for safeguards."

Lara looked unapologetic at her father.

" You wouldn't have been harmed, but you could've been. If you wizards were so superior you could've stopped me from firing my gun. You didn't and I thought you aurors were supposed to be prepared for everything."

Lily was trying to get her daughter to understand, " But you didn't have to -" She stopped when Lara swung round on her, face stony.

" Didn't what ? I wasn't trying to kill him. I was trying to make him see a point, the death eaters are NOT criminals. Their soldiers in a war, they laugh at you because your too cowardly to fight them hard enough. They treat Azkaban like it's a holiday resort because they know they'll be let out. They claim to be under the imperious curse, the ministry lets them go, ignoring the innocents they murder because to them and to you, muggles are filth not worth your time."

" That's not true."

" Really ? Why is it then, whenever there is an attack in a muggle area the order gets there late ?" Lara asked.

Lily and James looked at one another, finally understanding the point Lara had. The death eaters took advantage of the order and the ministry and the order never really fought the death eaters in muggle areas. In wizard areas the order always turned up without delay.

That meant the Order of the phoenix was just as racist as the death eaters.

Lara wasn't finished, " I hope one day non magical people find out about you filthy people. It may take centuries, but magical kind will pay for its arrogance."

She stalked out the room, ignoring the devastating implications of her statement.

The potters were still standing in the armoury, going over what they'd learnt and finding they didn't like any part of it.

Lara had some very strong points, they couldn't ignore that but that didn't mean they had to particularly like them. For the first time they had to accept the truth of her statements.

For Lily it was a heavy blow to her heart, for as long as she'd been a resident in the magical world she'd been more than aware that she was….unwelcome, despite her skills and abilities. " Mudblood", they called her, all for being a witch with a non magical background and heritage.

For seven years she went to Hogwarts and along the way she encountered the ways the magical world treated others and found she didn't like any of it.

Then she'd joined the order of the phoenix and found that all she did was sit through meetings, listening to Dumbledore going on and on about the greater good this and the greater good that, he didn't plan out any strategies, no battles. Nothing.

The only thing he did plan on was capturing death eaters and turning them back to the light. Something Lily often found questionable. In battle, death eaters aimed for the jugular, they slaughtered without reason, without care. When Lara was revealed to be the girl who lived Lily found herself questioning Dumbledore more and more about the methods he used.

Dumbledore believed that everyone deserved a second chance, did that include the numerous innocents who were slaughtered by the death eaters and their insane leader ?

Lara believed the magical world was in danger, Lily remembered her daughters terrifying statement about muggles finding out about magical kind. Being a muggle born she knew exactly what would happen, especially when it would be revealed that the dark lord of the present generation had been killing their people, and she knew there would be no mercy.

For anyone.

There was also the fact that the Order didn't arrive at any muggle attack until it was almost too late, by the time they did arrive many had died whilst many were being tortured or raped.

James's thoughts were on the fact his daughter had been willing enough to kill him, which chilled him to the bone. He'd known that his only living child hated him and his wife but he hadn't considered that his daughter would be willing enough to kill him or Lily.

Like Lily he was thinking about the facts his daughter had presented - the knowledge Dumbledore didn't care about muggles, the people the light were supposed to be protecting was a devastating blow, but then again…neither did anyone else, including he and his wife.

His wife, his beautiful Lily flower who was a muggle born herself.

There was also the threat she'd presented.

That muggles could and would find and destroy wizarding kind. That was terrifying, the magical world was his home, the place he was born, raised and educated. He didn't want to see it destroyed, but with the way the magical world kept prodding the muggles it wasn't a difficult notion to believe that wizards would be destroyed by muggle hands.

Why should muggles let wizard live ?

For centuries muggles had been tormented by wizards, dark lords rising killing hundreds and the magical governments clearing up the mess.

It wasn't a future either of the Potters wanted.

The next morning in Potter manor both Lily and James sat watching their daughter eat. She ate with measured movements and she sat as far away from her parents as possible.

Lara was more than aware of her parents staring at her but she hid her thoughts behind her occlumency barriers. She didn't regret putting her parents in their place, for her retribution against the couple was long overdue and Lady Saint wasn't someone who wouldn't use any method at her disposal to make them pay for what they'd done. It was that attitude that made her feared.

Besides, Lara knew that both of them had thought a great deal of what she'd said about magical kind falling before the non magical world.

It wasn't an idle boast, history was littered with things that were destroyed by people that didn't understand. The magical world needed to wake up and realise that they were prodding a sleeping tiger, but somehow Lara knew that nothing she'd say would be taken seriously.

Wizarding kind was hidden and hidden well, but not from governments. The British government knew about magical kind only in the higher levels, but Voldemort's actions would one day no longer be tolerated and those same politicians who held the wizarding world's fate and future in their hands could easily tell the world about the secret world hidden from prying eyes and foreign countries, tired of the never ceasing squabbling would follow.

Then….genocide.

Lara only prayed that the non offensive magical communities like Australia, France, New Zealand, China, Japan, America and Canada weren't affected.

It they were then there would be quite a few to blame.

A/N. Merry Christmas. Please leave a review.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter is going to be violent and gory, if you don't like, don't read.**

**Diagon Alley battle.**

" BANG ! BANG !"

Lady Saint's guns went off with smoke issuing out of the barrels as two more death eaters collapsed to the ground. She opened fire on another couple of death eaters and after they'd dropped, she whipped out her machine gun with the special and ingenious runes encoded on them.

As she opened fire with the MP5 submachine gun at killed more death eaters, Lady Saint considered the latest predicament she'd gotten involved in this time.

She and her parents had decided to go shopping in Diagon Alley, both Potters were firing off spells at the death eaters, admittedly not as powerful as bullets with spells encoded on them.

The Potters - she could barely think of them as family, had been on tenterhooks since the incident in the armoury at the manor. Whilst she was delighted that both of her…parents, oh, how she hated that word since it represented just how much her life had been ruined, were frightened by her.

They needn't have worried, Lady Saint had other considerations. They were cloaked, robed in black, with stupid masks out of a bad horror movie with an insane leader.

Those were her major concerns. The Potters and the magical world had taken a measly back seat.

Getting bored of the machine gun, she whipped out her daggers - Anne and Belle and used them with great effect, slicing open the necks of the death eaters or simply plunging a dagger in another.

Occasionally, she focused her mind and magic on a death eater and converted their magic into an everlasting cruciatus curse or even better, the killing curse.

She stunned a death eater, one with a silver hand.

It wasn't long before the death eaters were subdued or simply dead.

Lara walked towards one of the death eaters and yanked off the mask. It was a small man, with a rat like, pointed face.

" Wormtail!" her father bellowed.

Lara revived him. The little rat looked around and when he saw Lara, he gave a watery little smile that he probably thought was friendly.

" Lara, you-you look like your mother, like Lily-",

He was stopped talking by Lara slugging him in the face. She didn't give him time to recover, she hoisted him up.

" Don't bother trying to transform, or breaking my wrist with your silver hand, I've turned it into stone." her voice chilled the death eater to the bone.

" Lara, sweet child, sweet girl, you wouldn't hurt me…." Pettigrew started to cry.

Lara was disgusted by the cowardice of the death eater, more so by the fact that he expected his pathetic little pleas to have an effect on her.

Not gonna happen, rat shit.

" Why not ? Surely your dark lord isn't ignorant, didn't he hear about those death eaters that had holes in their heads ? That was me, buddy." Lara had the satisfaction of watching Wormtail's ugly mug contort with fear and tears.

He looked like an overgrown, filthy baby.

" Answer my questions and I'll let you live. Where is Lord Voldemort ?" Lara surprised the little man.

At once, both Potters interfered, until Lara glared at them and winked at them with the one eye the death eater couldn't see.

Not realising the trap he'd fallen in, Wormtail started blabbing.

" he's at - " He was stopped by a green light hitting him square in the face. At the same time, Lara sensed a powerful magical signature, right behind her.

Pushing aside the gasps and screams of panic, Lara focused her mind on the ambient magic and the bracelet on her wrist. Once she was finished, she turned around.

The creature standing before her was tall, skeletally thin, white skin with a greenish tinge, red eyes and clothed in robes even the Grim reaper wouldn't dress in.

Lara knew him, from the memories of the death eaters she'd wiped out in the last few weeks.

The creature which was partially responsible for her abandonment, the creature who didn't realise the dangers posed by attacking people who not only had the power to wipe out magical kind, but also outnumbered the magical population 6 to 1.

Lord Voldemort.

In truth, Lara thought it was a good name, the animal even smelt of death.

" Ah, Lara Potter, how fortunate. You've saved me the burden of hunting you down. Any last words before you die ?"

Voldemort stared at the girl, instead of breaking down and pleading for mercy like he'd expected the girl was staring at him with total disinterest as if he was below her notice.

Finally giving up on hearing her disgusting voice, he raised his wand.

" Avada Kedavra!" He shouted and everyone, including the order of the phoenix who'd just apparated into the alley, looked on in horror.

Nothing happened.

Lara folded her arms, and sighed.

Voldemort looked at his wand, shook it slightly, raised it again and roared the curse,

" AVADA KEDAVRA !"

Again nothing happened.

Lara smirked at her enemy, of course he'd been an enemy of hers since birth, but NO - ONE pointed a gun, a knife or even a wand at her without a consequence, which usually saw an undertaker afterwards - or a hospital bed for multiple fractures.

" My turn, " She said, raising her hand and revealing her gun.

A shot rang out and hit the paralysed and shocked dark lord in the shoulder. Voldemort screamed, a high pitched scream, as the bullet went right through the soft tissue in his shoulder.

He screamed even louder, when the burning hydrochloric acid started surging through his system.

Lara looked at him in interest, wondering whether or not the acid would do significant damage to Voldemort's magically animated body, but in the end she knew it wasn't permanent. The body would repair itself once he'd left the dampening field on the whole of the alley.

Voldemort was panting in agony, first this bitch had rendered him powerless, then she'd shot him and now he was in unbearable agony.

He looked at her, trying to psyche her out. It wasn't working.

" You little bitch, what is this magic ?" he panted.

Lara tsked, " Not magic, science. The bullet contains hydrochloric acid and some other really nasty chemicals. Also I placed a magical dampening field around the alley. I wanted you to suffer without your powers to get you out of the agony I'm about to give you."

With that, Lara rushed Voldemort so fast she was a blur. Voldemort had undergone many rituals over the decades, rituals that enhanced his already considerable magical power, a ritual to enhance the brain to make him more smarter, rituals which enhanced his strength and agility and gave him the reflexes of a snake, his chosen animal.

But magical rituals were reliant on the magic of the witch or wizard to fully support them, now Voldemort was powerless those same rituals were useless.

Using all of her considerable martial arts abilities, along with some truly dirty punches and kicks, and her two knives, Lara was able to give the dark lord who'd helped ruin her life pay part of the price. Before Voldemort even realised what'd happened, he now had at least, 3 broken ribs, one snapped arm, one eye sliced so he was now the one eyed dark lord and a knife in his shoulder blade, one ear sliced off.

Voldemort had thought the agonies of the horcrux creation was bad, but now he was powerless and this little bitch cutting and punching and kicking him.

Finally, Lara let him go.

The injured Dark lord sighed in relief but he didn't notice the object that materialised behind him which was cloaked in shadow.

Then he was lifted up in the air and brought directly over the object.

Lily's eyes found Hermione's, both witches had been horrified at the sheer sadism that Lara had relished in when she was beating Voldemort.

Both muggleborns wondered what Lara was about to do next.

When Lara cancelled the shadow cloak around the object and both witches gasped in horror whilst everyone else looked on in horror.

It was a meat grinder. What they didn't know was that Lara had got hold of it a while ago and modified it slightly.

Voldemort didn't understand what it was, but even he felt trepidation, especially since it had what looked like…blades.

Lara held up a piece of meat in her hands, powered up the device and chucked it in, clicking her fingers. Voldemort had a front seat view of what happened to that meat, the blades spun round, crunching and slicing the meat.

At the side, a pile of sliced meat issued out.

Lara stood in plain view, fingers poised for clicking. " I have a question for you, when you killed Harry Potter, what did he do before you did actually kill him ?"

Voldemort didn't see a way out of this and decided to answer the question.

" He challenged me to a duel, which I accepted. The fool bowed before I struck, I hit him with the cruciatus curse and held it on him for a good 3 minutes. He tried to fight back with stunners which I swatted aside then I proceeded to tear his puny little mind to shreds to find out about you, his lowly little sister. After I finished he boy was crying his pathetic little heart out."

Voldemort sneered, little realising the gravity of the situation. " Does that answer your question ?"

Lara looked at him, then in answer, she clicked her fingers.

Voldemort was slowly lowered down, screaming, begging Lara to let him go. But the girl didn't move. Dumbledore, whilst hating the dark lord and his evil, moved forward, wand raised. He flicked his wand, mentally sending a command to let him down.

Dumbledore cursed when he realised that the dampening field which had hindered his earlier interactions with Lara was being used again to fight Voldemort. That was unacceptable.

He turned to Lara, " My dear girl, you've made your point. Why not let him go ?"

" What ?" Lara stared at him questioningly, " Teach him now who's in charge and never let the bastard forget it. Along with everyone else in the magical world, like the stupid animagus disguised as a beetle. Hello, Skeeter, ready to die ?"

She grabbed the beetle on Dumbledore's robes and tore off one of the beetle's limbs.

" I'm trapping you in this form for the rest of your life. You'll have to avoid crowds, birds, insectivores and other predators. Unseen. Lucky you." She threw the beetle away and ignored the old wizard, until he laid a hand on her arm. Without turning, she grabbed the arm holding her and crushed the bone like a biscuit, smiling when she heard the crushing sound.

" Moron."

By now, Voldemort's feet were about an inch above the blades and shouted, begging for mercy. Lara ignored him, again.

Voldemort screamed as his feet were crushed and sliced to pulped meat, then his legs then his hips and lower torso.

Finally having enough, Lara stopped the grinding and sent it back to her manor to storage.

Then she looked back at the dark lord and grimaced slightly at the mess. Voldemort was barely conscious, both his legs were now a pulped mess just like the beef she'd used earlier in her demonstration.

Voldemort looked at her and Lara was delighted at the look of unspeakable terror in his eyes. For a moment, both enemies glared at one another, although Voldemort's was more cringing than Lara's, who looked at the whimpering thing in front of her.

Finally breaking the dead lock, Lara flicked a coin at him. When it touched him with pinpoint accuracy, Voldemort disappeared.

Turning to walk away - she punched Ron Weasley in the eye to stop him from touching her - she grabbed both her parents and lead them out of the alley.

" Let's go." She said.

A/N I got the meat grinder idea from the Exterminator film. Please leave a review.


	9. Chapter 9

**Pain. **

Voldemort appeared right in his throne room in Malfoy manor, as soon as his materialisation was completed, blood started leaking all over the floor.

Already the death eaters there starting milling about the wounded dark lord.

" My lord, " Bellatrix Lestrange screamed in horror as the man she loved, even more than her own useless husband appeared right in front of her, not tall and proud, but small and bleeding profusely, legs gone and ripped off.

" B-Bella, levitate me to my chambers. There - there are p-p-potions and spells that I can use to save my life. Quickly." he added, throwing in some of his old fearsome authority.

The death eaters stood aside as Bella levitated the dark lord and took him out of the room, it didn't take them long to get to the chambers. Bella helped the man she loved, more one sided love since Voldemort didn't understand the emotion, get undressed and managed to cast some basic pain numbing charms to his grievous injuries.

They didn't work.

_5 hours later…_

The bath was more like a tank than anything else, but that meant nothing to Lord Voldemort. Only yesterday, he'd almost been at his full strength. The time spent as a bodiless spirit, his resurrection and his recent battle had drained him of a good deal of his magical reserves.

It didn't help matters that he'd lost a good portion of his body mass. The resurrection ritual Voldemort had used had many advantages. In a magical battle, his body was virtually indestructible down to its magical construction, oh, he could still feel pain and agony, but the injuries, even fatal ones that would kill a normal human being, would heal completely.

It was one of the advantages of horcrux making, Voldemort had researched horcruxes when he'd left Hogwarts and his time at Borgin's and Burke's had given him a little more information that Slughorn had neglected to give him.

The people who'd made horcruxes in the past had only made the one, not 2 or 3, but 1. At the time, a part of Riddle had been curious about the reason why, whilst he believed they were weak compared to him. But as he grew older and his experience with the soul fragments continued, he started making theories based on his own observations.

As he made more horcruxes, he became aware that his body was changing and it had absolutely nothing to do with the numerous rituals he was undertaking at the time.

He made a theory that the more horcruxes that were created, the more the body started to mutate and change in ways not documented by magical researchers.

As time passed, he made more observations and as he did he found that his way of thinking and indeed, his personality was changing slightly as well. Oh, he still had his basic characteristics, but he seemed…angrier, more aggressive and took the time to torture his own followers from time to time.

He'd done that before of course, but only during times of failure but as the number of horcruxes increased and the more his body mutated and changed, warped maybe the better word, his aggression and his sanity seemed to be eroding.

There were times Voldemort mused whether or not he should've found a more satisfactory mode of immortality, one that didn't herald gradual instabilities and undesired side effects, but when he was a teenager he'd jumped at the idea of horcruxes.

Murder meant nothing to him.

The lives of people meant nothing the psychotic dark lord in the making.

Even so, soul magic wasn't his most strongest magical ability. In order to practice necromancy, you needed to respect life and souls.

Voldemort respected neither.

Necromancers would've cursed him for that, they knew that souls were sacred and not to be violated in any way, but Voldemort had done just that. Not once, but several times over.

Voldemort was immensely still in his tank like bath as the potion inside it bubbled continuously as it did its work repairing his body.

He was more curious that angry, which explained his current mood, which would've delighted the death eaters, who had to put up and suffer through his volatile mood swings.

He was curious because he couldn't see how Lara Potter had managed to incapacitate him like that without using a wand, an incantation or a potion.

The spells and rituals he'd used to enhance his body - along with the soul containers he'd created over the years - had guaranteed him the ability to rebuild his body with little effort. He'd be out of this wretched bath in no time. But Voldemort wasn't leaving, not until he found out how the Potter bitch did this to him and in such a manner.

It had to be magic, there was no other way. But how ?

His body was a magical construct and he knew positively that magical schools and colleges did not teach their students how to create magically constructed bodies, he knew that. He'd needed to travel for 30 years before he came across the basics of the rituals themselves, let alone the practical's, so how did she do it ?

Voldemort remembered vividly the pain as the bullet from a MUGGLE gun went right through his shoulder. Hydrochloric acid, Potter had said to him, how could hydrochloric acid affect him in his magical body ? It was a non magical substance, it shouldn't affect him.

Not seeing any alternatives, Voldemort stopped thinking about the how she'd managed to critically wound him, so he turned his attention to the girl herself.

She was dangerous, that was beyond a doubt. The questions raced through his mind, how did she develop her powers in such a manner, when young witches and wizards required a magical focus ?

How did she know so much about muggle science ?

Well, that particular question wasn't so difficult to answer, at least from his perspective, he'd studied muggle science briefly after he'd left Hogwarts and started travelling the globe in search of long lost magical arts to aid him in his quest for power and immortality.

Lara Potter could easily have done the same, although she used muggle means to kill and incapacitate her enemies whilst occasionally using magic.

The dark mark on Wormtails' forearm had enabled him to overhear the interrogation before, angrily, he'd put an end to the cowardly little bastard once and for all.

The knowledge it had been Lara Potter who'd killed some of his followers had been a surprise. Now, on the other hand, he realised he'd underestimated the girl, just like Dumbledore did.

His…sources in the Order of the phoenix had told him the girl lived by herself in a manor house and that the wards were unlike anything even the goblins possessed.

That worried him, wizard wards were far from perfect, they could be breached by any witch or wizard with a phenomenal grasp of ward casting and curse breaking.

Goblin wards on the other hand were far more…..difficult. It would take a massive amount of raw magical energy and knowledge to break down even the smallest ward, never mind the goblin vaults in Gringotts.

Goblin magic was just too powerful and it worked on different principles to human magic.

Voldemort leaned back in the potion bath, the mix was just keeping him alive and it was helping his rapidly regenerating magical core regenerate his body and repairing the worst of the damage, but there were drawbacks.

That meant no meetings with the death eaters, which he was far from happy about.

The Dark Lord was far from stupid, he knew that the death eaters, the purebloods that followed him, were far from the refined and cultured popinjays they portrayed at Gala's and at balls at the ministry or in their manors.

The Death eaters were a far from perfect organisation, the time spent alone and ghostlike was a reminder of that. None bothered to find or help him, Pettigrew only did it out of fear, not loyalty. They were incredibly short sighted, relying more on brutality and raw power than brains or power.

There were exceptions - Bellatrix Lestrange, his most loyal follower, who was excellent at keeping the others in line with her formidable magical ability that enabled her to duel most wizards below Dumbledore's level and the fact her reputation was such that she only needed to pull out and bare her wand for silence to fall.

But even so, even with Lestrange, Voldemort hated proxies. To rely on them would mean revealing most of his most cherished and well thought out battle plans and strategies. There was also the idea that the death eaters would misinterpret an order, a time, an important aspect of the plan and make a mistake that would shatter the scheme like a pane of glass.

Voldemort shifted slightly, wincing in agony as his regenerating body protested.

He was now wondering about the best and most practical method to deal with Lara Potter. He knew Dumbledore and knew the old man would just poke and prod and stick that abnormally broken nose in.

That was when it occurred to him.

Dumbledore would try and put stress in in the Ministry and try and get Lara as his ward, or maybe one of his devoted followers.

If that was going to happen, why not do the same thing with one of his own followers…?

Mind racing, Voldemort ran through the whole plan in his brain and went over the pros and the cons.

_Order of the Phoenix Headquarters._

" The recent skirmish in Diagon alley has concerned the ministry, especially since the girl who lived was involved. Fudge has ordered her to be arrested on sight." Tonks reported.

" What are the aurors orders once the girl has been arrested ?" Lupin asked.

Tonks looked at her boyfriend, " She's to be sent to Azkaban, without a trial."

Moody snorted. " Doubt that would happen, gal knows how to look after herself. Even so, I'm amazed that Fudge thinks the aurors can deal with the girl, especially since we know she can stop us from casting spells."

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, that was a subject that he was still trying to understand.

" We can forget the girls manor, its clear she's spending time with her parents. They were seen in the alley with her."

McGonagall spoke up, " That means the ministry will target them."

" precisely."

" I will speak to the wizengamot tomorrow at the meeting. The idea is that we overturn this ridiculous emancipation and hand her to the Potters."

" Why ?" Ron rudely asked, " Why not bring her to live with m - us ?" he asked, quickly changing his mistake.

Dumbledore sighed, wondering why he needed such an idiot in his own order, " Because then the Potters will be overjoyed and then they will rejoin in gratitude."

It was a well thought out plan. But it would end in misery.


	10. Chapter 10

**Who'll Win ?**

Lara smirked as her parents appeared ready to talk with her, but couldn't quite manage it. It was like a comedy show, one person tries to speak but they can't get the words out.

It was amusing. But Lara knew that soon this confrontation would heat up, besides she wanted to get this over and done with quickly.

" That went well." She drawled out, watching in anticipation the awaited reactions of her parents.

She wasn't disappointed, " You didn't have to torture him Lara." Her mother stated, Lily was in a right state, she'd thought her only living child would be killed because of her own carelessness, only to emerge as the victor in a one sided battle.

Lara frowned, " Why not ? Surely you don't support him ?"

" No of course not, its just that-" James was interrupted. It was becoming a common practice in the Potter family home these days.

" Lord Voldemort is a psychopath, he murdered your own son," both Potters winced, both at the memory of Harry's death and the way Lara worded the protest. It was like she didn't consider her brother her brother.

It was like a knife in their hearts.

Lara continued, far from oblivious to the way her parents had reacted.

" So what if I gave him a taste of his own medicine ? The Death eaters, Voldemort and the other sheep in the magical world need to see that if they get in the way of my plans, they'll pay a heavy price."

Lily just had to ask, " What're your plans ?" She asked carefully.

Lara smiled. But she didn't answer.

It wasn't until the next 2 days that they received their first visitor since Lara had come home. The fact that Sirius Black was amongst them was a bad omen. The fact the blundering clown was wearing full Auror robes was even worse.

Sirius and Lara had never gotten along, he'd only gotten along with Harry even before the night Voldemort attacked the Potters that fateful Halloween.

There was something about the man that made Lara disgusted, he was arrogant, stupid and his worst quality, as far as she could see, was the fact that he saw people the way he wanted to.

For example, in his eyes Lily was just a baby maker on legs and her daughter was in the same category. He just tolerated them for James's sake so there was no real love between him and the women in James's life.

But the enmity between him and Lara went back years, once when she was 5 Lara had naively gone up to him for a hug and she got a clout round the head instead of a hug. After that Lara stopped trying to gain a small amount of affection and her heart grew cold and indifferent. It had been that that had been one of the many triggers that made her leave the manor in the first place.

That sparked a very nasty war with the most vicious spells she knew - stinging curses in the reproductive organs and the magical variant of neutering. Serious for a pureblood wizard. Purebloods, especially those who're the Head of their respective houses need one thing aside from politics, an heir. Without one, the family line would end.

Even now, Lara wasn't one hundred percent certain whether or not the flea bitten bastard had discovered what she'd done to him. She didn't care either. The fool had brought it on himself.

Unfortunately for Sirius, luckily for Lara, he didn't know how every time he touched something he received a nasty curse for his troubles, each one worse and more harmful than the last.

Even now the dimwit didn't know who was responsible.

Lara was shaken from her memories very quickly by her father asking, " What's this about ?" Lara could hear the caution in her fathers voice.

Sirius stepped aside and let a tall, red headed man with glasses come forward, Lara despised him instantly. He had the signs of being a rule abiding goody goody, plus the signs of pureblood bigotry. Hardly surprising, for a Weasley.

The Weasleys gave the impression of kindness and goodwill towards muggleborns, but they were far from it - in fact, the number of times she'd heard them speak of muggles with her unlamented brother was enough to make her sick.

Harry had been too stupid to realise the Weasels, his best friends, were insulting his own mother. Lara, on the other hand, did. But there was one thing.

Lara later didn't give a fucking toss.

The redhead took a deep breath and let it out with a well rehearsed and well toned out speech, " Lara Potter, you are under arrest for crimes against the ministry. You will be taken directly before the wizengamot for trial later today for debate about whether you should be sent to Azkaban prison for life or sent to Hogwarts school for your education."

Percy Weasley took another breath and for the first time looked at the nonchalant girl in front of him.

Lara spoke clearly whilst casting a simple spell to shut them up, " I can't go to Azkaban or Hogwarts, Azkaban because of the fact I'll break out faster than light, that and the fact I have diplomatic immunity and even Fudge can't break that and if he does he'd be kicked out faster than before he can sign his own resignation. Hogwarts, well that would be difficult because of the simple fact that I've already passed my education over at Salems and at Beauxbatons. Next time, get the facts before you come to arrest someone."

Lara took a deep breath, imitating Percy even though the moron wouldn't see it. He never could in the past so why would he bother to notice now ?

" What am I meant to have done ? No, don't tell me, Fudge lost his favourite bowler hat ?"

James closed his eyes, praying that his daughter wasn't making a mistake. His family had a lot of power on the wizengamot but he hoped Lara wouldn't blow it.

Percy floundered, lost for words, but pompously went on, " As a citizen of magical Britain -"

" I gave up my magical citizenship when I was 8 years old, again, you people in the ministry should check your facts," Lara interrupted.

Percy just went on, " Nevertheless, you must appear before the wizengamot."

Lara sighed. This was the trouble with the magical world, particularly magical Britain. They were so bone idle and lazy that they either misinterpreted the facts or didn't want to even glance at the records.

It had been the lack of information and the political intrigue that had been the 11 year old her's decision to never reapply for magical citizenship in the first place.

Lara wasn't a magical citizen of any country, that fact was registered in the ICW and on her records at every ministry of people under that status. The ICW, along with the magical American government had given her this power after she'd done them a major favour of destroying a nasty demon and saving the lives of hundreds of people - magical and non magical.

Unfortunately, magical Britain was still in the dark ages and didn't receive any knowledge of the incident in question. If it did, then the Potter's would've realised their mistake, more or less. She'd adopted the name Taylor by that point.

Meeting with the wizengamot, plus the Seniority of the ICW and the American ministry would give Dumbledore and the ministry a meeting they wouldn't forget.

Plastering on a fake innocent tone and smile, Lara let out her Lady Saint persona with little effort. Both Lily and James were startled by the transformation, subtle as it was.

" May I please get ready first ?" Lara smiled at Percy with a sultry smile.

It worked. Percy flushed.

_Prude. _

_30 minutes later_.

In the atrium of the ministry Lara held her head high and expression as haughty as she could whilst ignoring, with little effort, Percy Weasley's glare.

She imagined it was because of her clothes - black muggle businesswoman's suit, dark purple blouse, black shoes, trousers and jacket.

Lady Saint didn't care about the Weasel's glares, if he didn't like what she was wearing that was his bloody problem, not hers. She was making it clear that this was her terms, and he was lucky that she hadn't snapped his skull. Whether Percy was astute enough to see that was anyone's guess, even though Lara doubted it, the Weasleys were not smart people, except the 2 elder brothers.

As they entered the chamber, Lily and James walked to their seats and sat down. They couldn't say a word but they tried to convey reassurance to their only living child.

Lara sat down and folded her hands in her lap, avoiding the trellis like manacles on her seat. There was no way the ministry would get the satisfaction of trapping her in a hostile environment. No way.

Already, she could see Fudge's podgy face, accurate name for a complete arse wipe, droop in disappointment. Umbridge's face sagged slightly as well.

Lady Saint took a good look around the place, she knew each and every one of them thanks to the records of the ministry and of the ICW that had been kind enough to donate to her.

Malfoy, Nott, Parkinson, Greengrass, Davis, Bones, Longbottoms's, Potters and finally the Order of the phoenix members, Granger, Weasels and the other less important people and finally the old fart himself.

Lara stared at Dumbledore, not liking his expression one little bit. It reminded her of a great white shark about to attack. It did remind her of a shark that did try to kill her and decapitate her in half.

Dumbledore was wearing ludicrously coloured robes of crimson with a eye melting pink trim, that seemed eccentric and tasteless, even for him. But it was the expression on his face that worried her completely. It was too sure, too smug and self assured. Whatever he was planning today, Lara knew that he felt that it was going to work. The only problem was, what was it ?

Lara was interrupted from her thoughts by Fudge opening the court and introducing everyone present and what their primary duties was.

Her head snapped up when Fudge announced the reason for this,

" Today, we shall be evaluating the future of Miss Lara Lily Potter, heiress of the Potter family and debating which family she is to be raised by."

At once there were protests from her parents, but Lara saw the smirks and sneers directed her way by the Malfoys, Parkinson's and Umbridge.

They clearly felt this would work.

How wrong they were.

Dumbledore stood up by that point, reassuring smile in place.

" Minister, I feel that the Potters should benefit by having their daughter returned to them. There is no need for this hearing."

" I beg to differ Dumbledore, this girl is clearly wayward and her parents have been proven to be negligent in caring for her."

Umbridge, at that point, couldn't keep her gob shut, " I find it insulting that a witch of Great Britain should wear such disgraceful clothes. Surely some robes can be found for her."

" Ah, so you're giving me fashion advice are you ? I haven't worn a set of robes since I was a kid, no one cared then and I doubt many care now. Besides, fashion tips from you, a woman who wears pink cardigans ? Please." Lara said with a sneer.

At once the toad protested, " How dare you ? I am Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary of the minister.."

Her rant was interrupted, " I know who you are. Can we get on with this please ?"

And so it went on, some hearing. Lara checked her watch, she'd noticed the manacles had snapped at her but she ignored them and kept her hands in her lap. There was no way in hell she was going to submit to anything these people handed out to her. If it came to a fight she'd start fighting.

Suddenly, the doors to the courtroom crashed open, revealing a group of people wearing robes that Lara knew instantly were not from Britain.

She smiled.

This was getting better and better.

Fudge barked out, " I ordered no interruptions - " then he stopped, seeing who he was speaking to.

" P-president Arrow and Madam Prescott, Madam Moonshine. How can I help you ?" Fudge put on a simpering, eager to please tone that made Lara cringe. Didn't the moron know that it wouldn't work on them ?

President Arrow, president of magical America, sneered at Fudge with disdain, " Fudge, sit down. Shut up and listen, we're here because of an illegal hearing."

" Illegal, how is this illegal ? Miss Potter - "

" Is emancipated, is the owner of a magical visa that even you, with the Malfoy fortune backing you up, cannot and would not be able to bypass." Madam Prescott, head of the Magical American education department spoke up, " Not to mention, she's already passed her OWLS and NEWTs and 3 apprenticeships."

She took out a stack of magical papers and sent the copies around everyone. They were copies of Lara's emancipation record, her apprenticeship records and the results on her examinations.

Umbridge stood up so fast it was like a rocket taking off, " What ? This girl educated ? No, she's a British magical citizen and under BRITISH law, she must ATTEND Hogwarts!"

Prescott looked at Umbridge, taking in the toad like creatures' disgusting apparel. " Not quite, not unless the same girl gave up her magical citizenship. Didn't your ministry receive the notification, it was done by magic so you should've received it. We told you, Lara Potter had changed her name, her birthday and her citizenship. Your ministry accepted it and left her alone. Why bother her now ?"

Umbridge floundered, this time Dumbledore stood up. He knew this didn't have a single hope, but he had to try something or at least gather some intelligence.

" Madam Moonshine," he addressed the new head of the ICW who'd replaced him when it was proven that he'd tampered with the raising of a magical child, not a good move on his part, " What, may I ask, is your role here today?"

Madam Moonshine was an old, shrewd and cunning witch, she knew Dumbledore well and knew that this was his way of gathering information. She had to admit, he knew his stuff. Pity he had to be so thick about everything else.

" Don't tell me you've forgotten the Tayler case, the girl who single handily saved the magical president of America from a demon. At the age of 8." Madam Moonshine pointed to Lara, who looked back, eyes open and face masklike.

There were screams of denial and snorts, it was typical British wizard stupidity.

Arrow, the president in question, raised his wand without a word. He projected the memory in question, the demon itself was terrifying, it looked like it could devour a building, let alone an 8 year old girl.

They saw as the demon attacked a crowd whom the president was addressing a speech, then they saw Lara, small, but determined. They could see the fire, the ice and the rage in her eyes. They saw her chant a spell they didn't understand and the demon dissolved into dust.

Malfoy was on his feet, breaking the silence that had fallen at the amazing spectacle, " How do we know the girl didn't confound you ?" he shouted.

Malfoy wasn't the only one with that similar suspicion, there were others.

" Because, idiot, Miss Taylor, as she is called now, swore a magical oath that she didn't release, encourage or even interfere with the demon or our minds. As she is still alive and a witch, then its logical to assume that she was telling the truth."

Madam Moonshine was letting her contempt show for the fools of the magical community of the British branch. She was aware of how traditional they were, how narrow minded, but not once had she suspected them to be moronic.

Fudge looked at Dumbledore helplessly, then stood up.

" I hereby disband this hearing, as the evidence has shown beyond a doubt that Miss Lara Taylor is an emancipated witch with a magical visa that cannot be broken."

Lara stood up, a smile on her face.

But deep down she was raging, anger about how the ministry had tried to manipulate her life. One day they would pay the price.

She was Lady Saint and no one interfered in her affairs.

Ever.

As she was talking to the party, her parents came over, but wisely kept out of it. But that didn't mean they weren't going to ask questions.

Dumbledore, on the other hand, knew nothing of discretion and barged in with the rest of the Order.

" My dear Lara, I am so glad that you were able to come out of this…farce intact."

Now Lara was worried, she was sure it had been Dumbledore that put Fudge on to this in the first place, but she couldn't come out and say it.

" Thank you."

She turned to walk away, but Ron Weasley, not the wisest idiot on Earth grabbed her arm, " Hey, let me go !

Ron smiled in what he thought was a charming way, it looked like a rat's teeth been shown to Lara.

" Hey, babe, how about we go for an ice cream in Diagon Alley ?"

Lara had had about enough and decided to give the swine both barrels, " I remember you, you hung out with my unlamented brother. I remember how you made crass jokes about my mother. " Mud blood " I think you called her."

Everyone gasped and Ron's face contorted and flushed red with anger. His hand squeezed Lara's arm even tighter.

" I didn't…"

" Yes, you did. I have a good memory. Let me go, and I wont cripple you for life. I dunno what your mother has said but I know one thing, I'm off limits."

Weasley still hadn't let her go and Lara looked around, " Dear god, what is it like in your funny little heads, it must be so boring ?"

" What do you mean ?" Hermione asked. She wasn't sure where she stood with the Weasleys, but hearing what Ron had called Lily, even as a kid, stunned and horrified her. Her parents had never liked Ron, and now here was the result.

" I mean that he's known that I've hated him and his stupid, bad tempered, irritating family for years, but he still wont take the hint and neither will he." Lara punctuated that by a blow to Ron's manhood.

Ron doubled up in pain and Dumbledore, not resisting the chance to play mediator, tried to make her see sense.

" Now, Lara, there's no call for that. I'm sure he didn't mean it…."

" Mean what ? Insulting my mother, only I can do that. Besides, I told the pig to let me go. He refused to listen."

" Bye."

Ignoring the order, Lara and the Potters left the Ministry.


	11. Chapter 11

**Battle Plans.**

Dinner was almost subdued at Potter manor, subdued because of two reasons. First, James had conceded that originally Fudge had intended on having Lara sent to Azkaban prison without a trial, only for Dumbledore to step in and try to play god.

The Second was the revelation that Ron Weasley was a pureblood bigot and had been insulting his supposed best friend's mother behind their backs.

For Lara, it was old news, but to her parents it was new and serious. The Light side was supposed to be pure, warm, good. Blood purity was the ultimate sign of the apotheosis of the magical world and had no place in the light. Lara didn't care, the light and dark were, in her eyes, no different. They just had different leaders with agendas which were truly similar.

Lily stared at her daughter, her eyes sad and downcast. Even in her hardened heart, Lara still felt sorry for her. It was kind of pathetic really, watching one of the people who was supposed to have loved her, only to adore a talent less boy with no capacity for intelligence.

" How long have you known, about Weasley ?"

Lara paused in taking a sip of her wine. It was vintage and very fine. " I don't know when he learnt the word but when he learned the meaning he never stopped. It wasn't long before I left. I didn't tell you for obvious reasons."

Both Potters assimilated this and James asked a question he didn't want an answer to.

" Have all of Harry's friends been like that ?"

He was asking because as a light side family the Potters had to act a certain way and anything like what Weasley had gone and done was like a blot of ink on a pristine surface.

Lara paused again, " The Weasleys, yes. Molly Weasley once spoke about the pair of you, telling her kids conspiratorially that one day the Potter family fortune would be theirs."

Both her parents looked stunned and horrified by this, Line theft was one of the greatest crimes of the magical world and the worst thing was what Molly was planning was totally and perfectly legal. Once Ginny had married Harry, all the Potter's possessions, their family fortune, all of it would be lost.

James spoke in a very serious voice, " I wont let them get away with this."

Lara smiled.

Her plans were falling into place.

The next few weeks saw an unexpected twist in events, the Potters had declared a war against the Weasleys. The Potters took Lara's memories of Molly manipulating her brainless kids and the charge of line theft.

If there was one crime the magical families agreed that must be punished above all else was line theft. Molly Weasley's plan had been legal but there was one small problem - the Potters had found out about it.

Lara's memories made the perfect testimony, since she'd seen the Weasley matriarch virtually confess with her big fat mouth.

Why the stupid woman did it in Potter manor off all places was anybody's guess.

The charge of line theft was something even Dumbledore couldn't break, with all his power, with all his titles, Dumbledore could not and would never be able to stop Molly Weasley being sent to Azkaban for life.

Lara let her father deal with the crime but for the first day - it took 3 days for line theft to be truly punished, the perpetrator would need to give up plenty of memories to an Legilimens. The next 2 days were spent with her doing research.

Molly Weasley had been spitting in rage, confident that Dumbledore could get her out of this. Unfortunately there was nothing he could or would be able to do. Either the woman didn't bother learning the fine lines of Pureblood magical law and hadn't learnt the penalties.

The second option was more likely - she was totally stupid and arrogantly assumed magical law would let it happen.

Lara was exhausted after the first day of the trial.

When Dumbledore had learnt what the foolish woman had conceived he knew that there wasn't anything he could do about it.

That didn't stop him from approaching.

" Lara," at his glare he conceded, " Miss Potter, " again the glare and Dumbledore remembered the case that won the girl her emancipation.

" Miss Taylor, I was wondering whether or not you would forgive Mrs Weasley." Dumbledore had his grandfatherly manner on full power.

It didn't work.

Lara stared at the man as if he was mad, " Mrs Weasley was planning on dosing my brother and I on love potions and was planning on stripping our family fortune from us."

Dumbledore noticed that Potter, he had no intention of thinking of her as a Taylor, referred to the Potter fortune as her own. That gave him hope.

" But the Weasleys are a poor family, surely…."

Lara completed the statement, " Surely Mrs Weasley and her useless fool of a husband can actually do some decent work. Molly Weasley arrogantly assumes that women should be housewives, but I assure you, if she'd tried that with me she'd never leave a hospital again. Stop bothering me Dumbledore."

After that the Order left the Potters alone, the news alone made many of the magical families angry and cut off their ties, small as some of them were, to that of the Weasleys.

James and Lily watched as their daughter sat in front of a muggle computer, both curious about how the device was able to work in a magical environment.

What a mystery she was, she could act innocent and sweet, unassuming. The next, a bad tempered, cold, callous and cunning enemy.

James remembered the look in her eyes when he'd provoked her in her own armoury, and later on in Diagon Alley when she was torturing Voldemort. They were cold, unfeeling eyes and he couldn't help but wonder how that had happened to the girl who'd used to live in the manor as a child.

James wasn't naïve, he knew that Lara, in spite of what some may believe, wasn't a child, she'd seen too much and gone through so much that the conventional classifications no longer applied.

Just looking at her face, blank and eyes fixed on the screen in concentration, made him realise that Lara Potter may well have died.

Lily's thoughts were wondering exactly how Lara knew so much about so many diverse subjects, the knowledge her daughter had been visiting the magical world routinely did wonders for Lily. She often went out of the magical world into the world of her birth, exploring the latest new aspects of muggle life.

Like her husband, Lily knew that her daughter was no longer a child. She'd been sure of that for some time but it wasn't until the battle in Diagon alley where she finally saw her daughter in action, and later saw her torturing Voldemort.

Torture was one thing Lily hated, and Voldemort been on the receiving end of Lara's brand had made her realise just how much the order had underestimated her.

Lara was a curious contrast, she dressed like a muggle, acted like two separate people on occasion and yet she was highly adept at brewing immensely complex and delicate potions, she could make a muggle gun much more deadly than it normally was, she was capable of great feats, like the dampening field around her home and Diagon alley.

She also seemed like a cunning planner, Lily could tell just by looking at her.

" What're you working on ?"

Lara looked up surprised as her father and mother came over and sat across from her where she was sitting with the laptop on the table in front of her.

Lara, not for the first time, wondered whether or not she was being contaminated by just living in the manor with her parents. For years Lara had been self sufficient, it needed to be since no one looked after her since Voldemort attacked the family years ago.

Her dependence on other people had been limited with the rare help she'd received. The magical world in America and the ICW had allowed her a magical visa and an education in the fields she wanted the most. Thanks to her knowledge of muggle science, Lara was able to create her own form of magic, and it enabled her to survive.

But now…..

Lara was positive that being with her parents was healing her heart which had been encased in a steel vault with a block of ice inside. Now, it seemed the ice was melting.

No matter what her parents or indeed the ministry believed, she was not going to stay in the magical world. She was not going to become the next head of the family.

What the magical thought of that particular idea was none of their business.

Lara replied, " I'm working on battle plans to bring down the death eaters."

Lily pointed to a box with a glass cover with what looked like a coin inside. " What's that ?"

Lara didn't really want to say, it was the problem with the magical world. Magical kind had many prejudices and preconceptions. Necromancy was one of them.

Lara sighed, realising she would need to reveal one of her most prized secrets, " Do you remember when I told Dumbledore about the parasite that was found when I had my magical examination, do you remember when I said it was destroyed ?"

Lily and James thought back and remembered clearly that Dumbledore had looked shocked.

" Yeah,"

" I lied, it wasn't destroyed." Lara pointed towards the coin, " That coin contains a piece of Lord Voldemort's soul. Not a big piece but a piece nonetheless."

James was angry that his daughter would bring such an evil thing like that into his own home, " Why didn't you destroy it ?"

Lara sensed his anger and, again, revealed one her secrets a tiny piece at a time, " Think, Lord Voldemort's split soul allows for a bond between the piece and the main soul, damaged severely as it is. Pour some blood over it and you have yourself a conduit. I've been using it to study Voldemort for a while, who he's followers are, where they live, how many of them there are."

" So you know who can't be trusted ?" instead of anger, James was excited. Most of the death eaters were well known, but they managed to slip the net and worse, pay off the government but there was a majority of the death eaters whose identity that was unknown.

Lara smiled, " Yes, but not yet. You see, I don't trust the magical world of Britain, you turn the other way when people who they don't believe deserve to live. They hear the words " imperius, " and they're let loose. Dumbledore believes that they can be redeemed. Lucius Malfoy is a death eater, yet he was in Diagon Alley," she showed them a ring on her finger.

It was a turquoise coloured ring, with what looked like some kind of dark liquid inside.

" What is it ?"

" A soul ring, this device sends me information to my mind to let me know exactly who has a soul bond on them. Have none of you ever asked yourselves what the dark mark is ?"

The question threw both parents off balance.

Lara sighed and explained, " Voldemort found a way of creating a soul bond spell, scavenged from Salazar Slytherin's knowledge in the art. Normally, these bonds cannot exceed a certain number because of the power level. Once you've been soul bonded, a connection is made, a magical one where a certain amount of magic is drawn off and absorbed by the caster. Voldemort somehow found a way around that. The horcruxes, combined with the soul links he'd established before, allowed him to survive that Halloween. Without them, he'd have faded away. Lost in limbo."

Lily asked in growing horror, a nasty idea had entered her mind, " These soul bonds, does it mean that if there is a spy…."

Lara knew exactly what her mother was asking and nodded, " If you mean does the " spy," here she made air quotes, " tell Voldemort everything and he or she is not really a spy, then yes."

Both the Potters looked at each other in horror. Lara looked at the two of them, a frown on her face.

" What ?"

Lily tried to explain, " We have to tell Dumbledore Snape isn't really a spy."

Lara's smile put made them even more tense.

" What would be the point ? " She asked, " Do you really believe Snape isn't near the top of my hit list, besides it wouldn't do much good, except prove that death eaters cannot and would never be redeemed, " here Lara looked thoughtful, a plan starting to take place.

" Lara…."

Their daughter looked up, " If we did tell the order about Snape, what do you think will happen ? Dumbledore will probably try to deny the logic of the argument, more to the point, we have no evidence. Just our word. If we show Dumbledore the horcrux coin and the soul ring, he'll try to destroy them both and that is no all, he'll say you and I are dark, we'll be sent to Azkaban regardless of my chosen one status. He wont risk it."

Lily was struggling to see that Dumbledore would be willing to do that, " But, why ?"

Lara folded her hands, " Grindelwald. Dumbledore was friends with him, at first, did you know that ?"

Both of the Potters were stunned that the leader of light, Albus Dumbledore, would ally himself with a dark lord. But they didn't argue since Lara had, up to now, been right about everything.

They let her continue.

" it didn't last long though, according to a diary I stole from the man himself, along with some memories I extracted from him. Apparently, they were going to rebuild the world where muggles would become subservient to magical kind. Now, for some, that idea would have merit. But it wouldn't work. Muggle governments and militaries wouldn't stand for it and launch an all out war."

James looked at her and asked slowly, " Do you think that would happen ?"

" Of course I fucking well do ! Do you really believe the normal governments are going to tolerate the magical worlds never ceasing wars, the attacks and baiting of normal people ? No, at some point in the future, maybe sooner rather than later, magical kind will find itself at war with an enemy that knows where almost everything is. The normal governments know where the ministry sites are, from there they could discover where everyone lives, wiping out places like Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts and other places. Where will pureblood supremacy be then ?"

For the next 3 days neither of the adult Potters saw their daughter, even at mealtimes. After the fourth day, Lily had had enough.

" James, where is Lara ?"

James checked on the ward glass, " She's in her room love,"

As both Potters entered Lara's room, they stopped.

The room had once been a large ornamental suite, complete with comfy armchairs and bookshelves. But now it resembled a cross between a laboratory and the war rooms Lily's father had loved watching on TV during the second world war. Maps covered one section of walls, showing areas of the country with red, blue and green markers. Computers surrounded the maps.

The laboratory side on the other hand had a couple of computers and what looked like chemistry and potion lab equipment, test tubes, beakers and Bunsen burners and cauldrons. To the side were 7 spheres with all sorts of junk nearby.

Lara's voice sounded behind them, " What do you think ?"

Lily and James swung round and not for the first time wished their daughter wouldn't do that and hide her emotions the way she did.

" How did you do this ?" James asked curiously.

Lara smiled, a smile that didn't reach her ears, " With the help of the house elves, they removed the majority of the furniture but they left the rest when I wanted them to. I set up the rest using bits and pieces from the lab at my home manor in this country."

Lara walked in and showed them, " These computers are connected via a terminal which, when in use, hacks in to the horcrux in the coin. This helps me find the death eaters, their training grounds, their camps. Everything. Plus their names."

She held up a square piece of paper, " Do you recognise this father ? You should, being a Head of house."

James took the paper and studied it, then comprehension dawned on his face, " Where did you get this ?"

Lara gave one of her sardonic mocking smiles, " There were a few sheets in your office, I took them"

Lily looked hard at her daughter. She didn't recognise the paper, " What is that paper ?"

" Magical contract paper."

The question had been directed at James, but Lara answered it.

Lily was puzzled, " Why do you need that ?"

Lara explained, " I have the names of over 5,000 death eaters. A good number of them come from old magical families, meaning they'll be rich with samples of their writing all over their homes."

She held up a sheath of files with names on them, James recognised the names of some….Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, Zabini, Weller and Carter.

Finally, James caught on. Breathing shallowly, he murmured, " Oh my god, no way…"

Lara smiled at him, " Ah, you understand."

Lily still didn't get it, " Understand what ?"

Lara looked pointedly at James, " Explain."

James was still stunned by the plan, the sheer audacity. Lara looked back at Lily, who was looking between the pair, trying to figure out why James looked horrified.

" Magical contracts bind a witch or wizard together. They're treated with immense care, if you don't abide to it and do the exact opposite, or have done the exact opposite, then you lose your magic or life, as its written under the contract."

Now Lily was starting to understand, " But what do you intend to do ?"

Lara sighed, " I have the names of 5,000 death eaters, imagine if they died or became those that they're trying to kill ?"

Lily's eyes widened and her breathing became shallow, " If you do that, then - "

" 2 generations of pureblood bigotry will be washed away," Lara finished without pity or emotion about what she was about to do.

" You can't - " James began.

" Why not ? You know as well as I do that the death eaters cannot be trusted, nor can they, as Dumbledore and that pathetic order of his believes so, be redeemed. I've told you already, they're soul bound. If they lose their magic and lives, Voldemort himself will suffer. He's dependent on his supporters as well as the horcruxes."

" Destroy them and he loses his so called immortality. I'll do it, not matter what." Lara folded her arms, looking resolute.

Lily and James wanted to protest, but then they both saw the mocking quality they hated turned to full power. She clearly thought both of them were cowardly for not wanting to reduce the death eaters to muggles.

Both Potters hated the death eaters, they both knew that Dumbledore could do infinitely better than simply stunning them, but they were both intimidated by the man's stature. They still felt that Lara could do a lot better. Lily's practical mind was churning.

" Lara, are you positively sure that the death eaters cannot be redeemed ?" Lily hated the idea of ripping Snape's magic out, regardless of what they both knew.

Lara closed her eyes and sighed, opening them again and looking at them without any clear emotion.

" I've just told you, they're soul bonded to Voldemort, they keep him alive. Whilst they do that, supplying him with their own magic's, he's twisting their minds. He knows each and every single thing about them, every humiliating memory, every action, every deed. When his soul, twisted as it was, and this is only speculation," she added hurriedly, " was torn away from his body, his death eaters were supplying him with the necessary energy to keep him from fading into oblivion. Pity. " she added.

" So some of them may have felt remorse ?" James asked hopefully. He desperately wanted an excuse for his daughter to not to have to do what she was planning.

" Remorse ? Them ?" Lara spat, " Since when does a wizard feel guilt or pain over a child's death, a child who doesn't have any form of magical powers ? Your supposed light doesn't help, your leaders couldn't care less about anything like that. Besides, if they felt such things they wouldn't show it. As far as I'm concerned they're guilty. Why do you think people like Malfoy and Nott make Fudge pass laws against non magical families ?"

" I'm going to wipe out those supposed civilised people and make Voldmeort regret his decisions." Lara said in a tone that said she was finished.

Lara lead them over to a table with spheres on them, " These are some of the weapons I employ. They're magical bombs, with a formula inside them that uses all the power of an atom."

Lily was startled, " You've discovered a magical method of harnessing the atom ?"

" Not quite. This particular formula is unstable when exposed to magical energy. This sphere reflects it away until the final phase of detonation. The potion within the self contained cylinder absorbs the magic, when it reaches a certain level, it explodes taking with it a mile of landscape, destroying all life in the area."

James looked at a cylinder on the table and picked it up, " It doesn't look threatening."

Lara laughed, a sound that was sardonic, mocking, " It may look harmless, but connect that to the actual bomb and this manor would become a smoking crater in the ground. Put it down."

James put it down. He breathed in deeply, " What are you going to use them for ?"

" I'm going to destroy the manors and strongholds of the death eaters." Lara said as if that explained everything.


	12. Chapter 12

**Rescue. **

Lara's declaration had stunned both Potters, although it shouldn't have, Lara's style seemed to go into the extremes. Lara folded her arms, cocked her chin and gazed at them with the calm she'd been practicing since the day she'd ran away from them. She waited patiently, waiting, she knew they'd talk when they were ready.

Lara knew they would argue, the magical world had an ingrained sense of being holier than thou, they believed that the killing of people made you as bad as the dark community.

Lady Saint wasn't disappointed.

James shook his head, " No Lara, you can't."

Lara quirked an elegant eyebrow at that, " I don't care why you're arguing, my decision is final. I've already told you that, you can't make me change my mind. You'll only be wasting not just my time, but everyone else's, in case you've forgotten this is war. There's no time for namby pamby rubbish ."

Lara started pacing around the room, like a tiger on the prowl, " You are so arrogant, you know. You automatically assume that murdering the death eaters makes you as bad as them, no don't start," she held up a finger at Lily, who was preparing to argue with her daughter. Lara carried on, " don't think for a moment that you can tell me what I can or cannot do. You lost that right years ago. It's time you got your heads out of the sand and faced reality. Let me make it nice and clear, the Death eaters are dead people walking."

It was at that point that something started chiming, it was an instrument which looked like a sort of cross between an alarm clock and a compass.

Lara picked it up, studying it, " If you think the ungodly can be redeemed, come with me. To Crawley."

" Crawley ?" James said, his eyes narrowed, then widened as he remembered, " Merlin, Hermione lives there."

" Hermione ?" Lara questioned curiously, then her memory returned, " Oh, Harry's friend."

Hermione Granger asked herself why the Order wasn't here, her wand outstretched, her parents were huddled beside her, terrified. Hermione sighed, realising that she'd need to tell them the truth of the magical world.

" Come out, little mud blood," A drawling voice howled over the distant screams as the people in the street were tortured or killed.

Hermione flinched as she recognised the voice.

Draco Malfoy. Since it was summer, Dumbledore couldn't touch him. The blonde boy was smirking in his full death eater regalia.

" How does it feel, Mud blood ? Knowing that you'll die without your precious Dumbledore or Potter to save you. Oops, I forgot, he's dead !"

" Get on with it Malfoy ! " One of the other death eaters snapped.

Malfoy flushed, considering his complexion, it was an unusual sight. " When my father hears about this -"

" Your father," one of the Death eaters jeered, " Is a loser."

The death eater's manner became more threatening to the boy, he grabbed Draco by the collar. The aristocratic brat had never been manhandled like this, and didn't know how to respond.

The death eater growled, " Threaten me once again, boy, I dare ya. Your daddy will never see your sneering face again, if I was you I'd learn to shut up and get on with it. Now move, before I do kill you."

" How about, I kill all of you scum before rescuing them ?" A voice, unfamiliar to the death eaters but familiar to Hermione.

They turned and saw Lara behind them, wearing black trousers and a white jumper. She was holding a knife and a gun in her hands.

Malfoy walked close to her, a sneer on his face. " And who are you ?"

Lara smirked, " I am Lara Potter, or Lara Taylor. In the Magical world, I am the girl who lived," she sneered, but then her manner brightened, " In the mundane world, I am Lady Saint."

The Grangers gasped. Hermione was surprised, yet again Lara Potter had revealed her criminal identity, this time in front of the death eaters and her parents. Why ?

What Hermione and the others present didn't know was that Lara had had a good reason for telling them this, Lara had wanted them to be confused and, since the death eaters never bothered investigating the muggle world, they wouldn't know or even understand Lady Saint's reputation.

In the order's case, it was the same. Lara had known that the muggle borns in the group would be better informed and tell Dumbledore, making him change his tactics and approach. It was all to do with tactical expertise, confusing the enemy.

Lara raised her gun and fired a round, the bullet was transposed in space in hit Malfoy in the brain. Death was instantaneous. At once, all the death eaters started firing curses. That gave the terrified Grangers the chance to get under better cover as they watched the battle.

Hermione had thought that Lara would've brought her parents, but no, this was the first time she'd truly seen the other girl in action.

She was merciless, she flipped, moved like lightening. Her gun and knife flashed and shot round after round, almost as though they were parts of her body.

Hermione recalled how she'd helped the order in their attempt to subdue Lara, remembering the way she'd stopped their magical abilities. Hermione winced as she realised that the girl that she'd tried to capture for the old fool Dumbledore had just saved her life.

Why ?

Hermione watched as the girl she'd seriously misjudged fought the death eaters, she was already aware of Lady Saint's reputation as a fighter, she'd seen the results of the confrontations she'd had with the death eaters already. Hermione wondered, truly wondered, if Dumbledore even had an inkling of what he'd been trying to do.

Seeing Lara in action was stunning. She moved like a dancer, yet she fought with the same ferocity as a cornered tiger. Her arms, hands, legs were spinning, flicking, twirling and kicking at speeds Hermione had trouble following. It was like watching a dance with knives and guns.

Lara gritted her teeth, relishing the amount of destruction she was bringing to the death eaters, it wasn't everyday she allowed people to try and curse her. There were over thirty death eaters and she was shooting them, stabbing and slashing them, punching them and they still came back for more.

At the last one, she heard a scream. Lara rushed into the house and found one of the death eaters holding Hermione by the neck.

The death eater spoke, exhaustion and fear making him desperate, " Let me go, or I'll kill her."

Lara stood there calmly when she noticed Mr Granger get up in an attempt to jump the death eater. Then she smiled and closed her eyes….

Opening them, she found that she was being held by the stunned and terrified death eater, being stared at by the stunned and equally terrified Grangers. Spinning round, she grabbed the death eater, who in an act of complete futility, tried to get away.

But Lara held on and used the momentum to snap his neck.

Lily and James were waiting for their daughter to arrive, she'd left them after giving them the opportunity of going to save Hermione and her family, only to change her mind at the last moment. She'd vanished, leaving behind a television screen which showed minute to minute viewing of the battle.

They cheered when they saw their daughter defeat the death eaters, only to stop when they saw the sole survivor of the raid hold Hermione hostage. They'd wondered what she would do to get Hermione out of this. Some may think that Lara would shrug and give up, but she didn't give up easily.

They watched in utter bemusement as Lara closed her eyes and vanished, only to reappear in the death eaters open arms !

How had she managed this ? They watched in fear as the death eater held Lara, before she turned the tables on him.

It wasn't possible, but it was. Lara had done it.

They watched as she used surprise and speed as her main weapons in that one, seeing her snap the neck of her victim. Lily and James had watched grimly as their daughter murdered the attacker, but they understood that she hadn't then the death eater could've killed her, prophecy be damned.

Lara had made herself perfectly clear where she stood with the prophecy, how she thought it to be the mindless ramblings of a moronic woman. In truth, Lily and James agreed with her, and yet they understood the value Dumbledore seemed to have in the wretched thing. Prophecies were complex things, and many in the magical world stuck by them.

Just then Lara appeared with the Grangers in tow. Lara's face was completely expressionless, she dropped her weapons on a table and announced she was going to her room.

Emma Granger had just suffered the most horrendous experience in her life. She'd never approved of the idea sending Hermione to a school they'd never see, or meet the wonderful teachers their daughter gushed about.

Emma had known that Hermione wasn't being completely honest with her parents about the magical world, and now she had proof.

Emma had been worried about Hermione, especially her near obsession with authority figures, her disappearances with other people, not even giving she or her husband an adequately good reason for her leaving them. Today, Hermione was going to tell her, whether she liked it or not.

She recognised her friend Lily at once, asking her to join her and her husband in the Potter's lounge.

Emma sat Hermione down on a sofa which cost more than half the furnishings at home, " Right, I want a good explanation of what happened today. You can start by answering the following questions, who were those people who attacked us today ? Why did they try and kill us ? What have you been doing at that bloody school that automatically means that you can treat us like we're filth ?"

Hermione was stunned that her mother would say that, " I don't treat you like filth. How can you say that ?"

" Because its true." Dan snarled, " You go off with people we don't know, you don't even give us a good explanation, and now I bet you're planning to stop us knowing what's happening. Ignorance is bliss, right Hermione ?" He moved close to her and whispered dangerously, " Tell us what's going on. Now."

" You mean you haven't told them ?"

The Grangers and Lily and James, who'd watched in silence as the drama unfolded, swung round in their positions to see Lara, who was leaning against the doorway. She was dressed in a blouse and black jeans. Her casual pose and outfit were a ruse, her eyes were mocking.

" The great Hermione Granger, know it all extraordinaire, arrogant, opinionated, stupid." Lara mocked as she approached the other girl. Her eyes drilled into her with the same power as one of her parents drills.

" Tell them, you stupid fool. Lord Voldemort, remember him, the dark lord who wants to murder all people not like him, the scumbag followers who are degenerate examples of humanity, monsters who rape and murder." Lara turned her attention to the Grangers which then turned back to Hermione, " You really are a fool."

Hermione wasn't going to let this girl make a big mistake, she took her wand out slowly, if Lara tried anything she would be prepared, " Dumbledore said…"

" Said what ? Said what ?" Lara shouted in her face, losing her patience, ignoring her wand, " That your parents were expendable, that they were muggles, " here she mocked the word, holding her hands up, " That they should never be told for the greater good ? What ?"

" You sit there, after I've saved your life. I saw the scene for a minute before stepping in, you had no intention of fighting back. Why ? Because you believed your hero's fob story that he'd protect his precious muggle born from a death eater attack ? Do me a favour, grow up and see the world differently."

Lara sat down, " I don't know why I bothered to save you."

Emma wanted this girl to get to the point, " Look, I don't know who you are, except that you are called Lady Saint, but I want to know who you are."

Lara stood up, " My name is Lara Stephanie Taylor, formally Lara Andrea Potter. L. S . T. those initials spell out Lady Saint. My brother, Harry Potter, and I were attacked by a Dark lord, the same that I mentioned a moment ago. Lord Voldemort. He attacked us when we were no more than babies."

Lara leaned forward, her eyes dark and misty as she recalled those days, " The headmaster you daughter has so much misplaced devotion to, Albus Dumbledore, was leading a vigilante group and still does to this day. I don't know nor do I really care if your daughter is apart of that group or not. He proclaimed my useless brother the boy who lived, all because of a mark on him. I had a similar mark, but the old fool either didn't notice or he took a calculated risk."

" I wont go into details but I'll just say that my parents favoured Harry instead of both of us equally, as a result I left and fled to the muggle world. I was educated in America and in other countries, following numerous apprenticeships both magical and non magical. I studied techno magic, literally the science of combining magic with technology, wiccan magical arts, a pure and beautiful magic which doesn't require wands. Speaking of which, Hermione, if you don't put that wand away, now, I'll punch your skull so hard that people will think you're physically deformed. Put it away."

Sheepishly, under her parents gaze, Hermione put her wand away. Lara continued her monologue, not even concerned about whether or not the foolish girl would even obey.

Lara continued her monologue for a while, mentioning her crimes, the fact that they also helped people, her involvement in numerous charities.

Then she got to the part which explained her disgust for Hermione. Both Grangers were furious that their daughter would aid somebody else's kidnapping attempt.

Lara looked at Hermione, " I admit, I have been wondering what to do with you. But I know this. You have a choice. You've just seen how Dumbledore abandoned you, but I'm still convinced that your precious infatuation with the man is still there."

Hermione was intrigued, but she felt that Lara was being completely unfair. She no longer had an infatuation with Dumbledore or his order. Ron Weasleys bigotry had seen to that.

" What's your choice ?" She asked Lara quietly.

Lara sat down and folded her hands, " You either work with me, and help prevent Lord Voldemort destroy the world. Or you can take your chances with the death eaters."


	13. Chapter 13 Beginning of the third front

**The Beginning of the Third Front. **

The Potter lounge was plunged into silence when Lara made her ultimatum. After a moment, Dan shouted, " Are you insane ? They'll kill her !"

Lara hadn't taken her gaze of Hermione, the witch in training looked stunned and pale at the threat, still not taking her eyes off the girl who'd tried to kidnap her, Lara answered, " Yes, but to be frank Mr Granger, I couldn't care less if your daughter, who aided and abetted a kidnap attempt on me, is raped to death."

Lara moved around the room to look out the windows onto the grounds. " Let me make this clear to you Hermione, you mean nothing to me. But I am going to give a chance, an opportunity to let you see how a war is really fought. It isn't fought in meetings, kidnap attempts on others."

Hermione wasn't going to let that go she hated being accused of things, even if they were technically true, " You're the only person who can defeat you know who."

Lara turned and sneered, " You know who ? Don't tell me you're one of those sycophantic cowards you can't say his name, you seemed smarter than that, he wasn't terrifying when I met him in the alley." at the Grangers look of confusion Lara laughed," You mean, you didn't even tell them that." Looking at the elder Grangers she said, " To amuse your parents ? No ? Never told them how Lord Voldemort was rendered powerless, tortured and mutilated by a meat grinder ?"

Hermione frowned, " You shouldn't have tortured him. Professor Dumbledore says -" she started in her holier than thou know it all voice, the voice which grated on the nerves of many people. Fortunately, she was interrupted.

" Dumbledore says this, Dumbledore says that. Tell me, Granger," Lara spat, her calm mocking persona fading as she became truly angry. Hermione and everyone else in the room shrank away, seeing that her anger was more terrible than the fires of hell. " If someone tortured your mother, raped her in front of you and your father," Lara locked eyes with the elder Grangers, they were frightened, " Wouldn't you want to kill them ? Or would you rather just stun them, forgive them and claim they can be redeemed ? Normal people would want to kill them, not give them the ammunition to do it all again. That's what Dumbledore does, he gives out second chances like free magazines. He plays with people's lives. Don't you see that ? He played with my brothers life, making out he was the one to defeat Lord Voldemort. He could've said to everyone that the moron had been defeated by the Potter twins, but you know what, I'm glad he didn't. I love my life, and I wont let some old fool with delusions and a neurotic teenager with a know it all attitude who thinks he's the second coming of God just because he's a headmaster decide my life for me. Not going to happen, I wont let it happen."

Lara looked Hermione in the eye. The bushy haired girl felt like a germ under a microscope. " I honestly don't care what you choose. You're not leaving this manor."

* * *

Emma Granger was walking through the grounds of the manor the next morning. The Potter family home was massive and they'd been given a suite all to themselves. Emma was still reeling from her conversation with Lily and James, sensing that Hermione wouldn't give them a straight answer.

To say she was disappointed in her only child was an understatement, how could her daughter be an accomplice to a kidnapping ? That she'd seen a friend's dead body in the hands of a homicidal maniac ? Emma and Dan had always been funny about the idea of their daughter coming to a school in a world they could barely grasp, but they'd also watched as she became a seemingly different person. The Hermione of today was a stark contrast of who she'd been a long time ago.

The Hermione of today was secretive, nonchalant and uncaring about her parents, even seeming disdainful of them and their way of life. Emma knew that her daughter put a lot of faith in authority figures, hardly surprising really when you think about it.

Hermione had been bullied heavily as a child, her love of books and rules ostracising her from her own age group, Emma also remembered how she'd told the teachers who was going to play the next prank. The fact she'd raised a girl like that saddened her greatly. School didn't automatically mean that everyone wanted to learn, but Hermione had a problem, always had, that stopped her from actually seeing that not everyone was like her. Naturally, she didn't see it because of her stubbornness. Emma and Dan had been intellectuals, top of their classes, but they had something called social lives, something Emma was becoming increasingly worried their daughter would never have in her life.

Lily and Emma had talked for an hour before the conversation, logically, turned to Lara. Emma found it hard to believe that Lily, who'd been a great friend to her seeing as she had non magical roots herself, could suddenly be so prejudiced to her only daughter.

Lily hadn't lied, hadn't sugar coated the truth, much to Emma's shock. Instead, the redhead had been honest. Emma had listened as Lily tearfully told her the basics of Lara's background, her running away from home and only just returning to their lives.

" She's been on her own, depending on no - one but herself. All because of me, of James. Of Dumbledore." Lily had spat out the name like it was a bad taste in her mouth."

Emma had been curious of how Lara had fought off Lord Voldemort, Lily had told her the gruesome story of how Lara effortlessly beat him and mutilated him. Frankly, the muggle mother thought that it had been a good start of launching a war. If you're going to fight someone, use propaganda. Hitler did it, Churchill did it, hundreds of years of doing it.

Emma came out of her musings as she saw Lara doing what looked like Tai Chi exercises. The older woman took in the sight, never had she seen anything so graceful in her life. Lara seemed flexible and supple in her movements, not expending any energy.

Emma didn't realise she'd already been noticed, but she had. Lara opened one of her eyes and saw her, " Hello Mrs Granger. How are you finding this place ?"

Emma was snapped out of her reverie by the question, " Its lovely, thanks." After seeing her kill those animals and give that ultimatum to Hermione, Emma wasn't entirely sure how to deal with Lara, even if she seemed calm and controlled at the moment.

Lara sensed the older woman's caution and couldn't blame her. She had, after all, threatened her own child. Lara stopped her movements and walked up to Emma, who noticed that even though this was a hot day, the girl didn't have a bead of sweat on her face.

" I'm sorry if I seem aloof to you, it's a natural defence, after all your daughter did assist in a kidnapping attempt."

Emma nodded, not happy about that, " I'm sorry about that. " With those words came the floodgate, who else but this girl could understand ?

" How can she be like this ? I know Hermione can be blinded by authority figures, but this…it goes too far. What did he do to her ?" Emma asked in one breath.

Lara quirked an eyebrow, he as in Dumbledore. Lara sighed and sat down, motioning for Emma to do the same.

" Dumbledore is like a preacher, only he uses kind words and manipulation instead of religion. He's a tremendously great persuader with well chosen words. As he's the headmaster of Hogwarts, and as a seemingly great man, it hardly surprises me that so many look up to him."

Emma thought that through, " That doesn't necessarily mean he's right all the time."

" He certainly wasn't when my brother was murdered, no." Lara pointed out.

Emma was curious, "You don't seem to like your brother, even if he's dead." She pointed out cautiously.

Lara shook her head, reassuring her that the subject wasn't a sensitive and painful one, " No, I didn't, when we were children he had Lily and James wrapped around his finger. They believed everything that he said, and I mean everything. If he told them I'd stolen a toy, I'd get punished for it. He would look at me with a sneer. He was incredibly stupid as well, not a good thing if your going to be the Heir of the family, which shouldn't happen."

Emma's curiosity was perked, " Why not ? Sorry, but I know next to nothing of this world."

" Not your fault," Lara said generously, " I was the first born of the twins, meaning that automatically I'm the eldest, meaning I'm the heiress of the family. But Dumbledore persuaded my father give the position to my brother after Voldemort attacked. It wouldn't surprise if he wanted to control the next heir after my father stepped down."

Emma could see the logic behind that comment, " So, with your father no longer in charge, and you brother in charge of the Potter fortune, Dumbledore could do what he wanted."

" Yes, even use Harry to make numerous donations. Harry worshipped Dumbledore whilst I didn't, the man didn't pay attention to me. One learns more from the shadows than they do in direct eyesight. I speak from experience."

Emma's mind was ringing here, here was a girl who was jaded and furious with the world, she couldn't believe Lily. How could she do this to her own child ?

" She did it because of Dumbledore." Lara said.

Emma jumped and stared almost fearfully at Lara, the girl shrugged nonchalantly, " Your thoughts are noisy, you should learn to keep your mind quiet."

Emma gulped, wondering how she could think about anything without this girl reading her mind ?

Lara was quick to reassure the woman she meant no harm, " I don't make a habit of it, I only do it when I feel that someone isn't being completely honest with me. How do you think I now live here, temporarily, but live here ?"

Emma understood, " So you read your parents minds, to make sure they were sincere ?"

Lara smirked, " I knew they were sincere since the day they broke into my manor. I only played a game with them, but I wanted them to sweat. Teach them a lesson. Don't look at me like that. They deserve it, I spent a very unhappy childhood here in this manor. I merely wanted them to pay for it."

* * *

Hermione was walking through the grounds when she spotted her mother sitting in the grass sitting next to Lara Potter. Hermione bit her lip.

The bushy haired bookworm knew that Lara had good reason to hate her, to let her be with the death eaters. Hermione shuddered, she'd heard horror stories of how the death eaters raped and tortured women, how they were raped in the eyes of the father or husband.

Tears appeared in Hermione's eyes as an image came into her mind of her and her mother being tortured and raped by Malfoy and his goons, her father struggling to get free. Malfoy's laugh echoing in her brain….

She snapped out of the trance, focusing on the here and now. She watched as her mum got up and spoke to Lara before heading back. Hermione wanted to know what they'd been talking about.

" Mom !" she called, rushing to meet her.

Emma looked up and saw her daughter running towards her. As Hermione skidded to a stop, she asked breathlessly, " I saw you talk to her. What did she say ?"

Emma glared at her daughter, wondering if this nosiness was due to Dumbledore, " It's called a private conversation Hermione. I thought I told you when you were small that you mustn't disturb one. What Lara said to me is private. Is this what your headmaster has taught you, to poke your nose into other people's business ? Here I thought we'd spent good money, your father and I, on a magical education. Spells, potions etc."

Hermione was abashed, " I'm sorry mom, but I must know what you and Lara Potter were talking about."

Emma's temper was bubbling under the surface. " I don't understand you Hermione. That girl's been through a lot, she's had to depend on her own, survive on her own, carve a new life for herself. I know she's a thief but that's beside the point, she's a survivor Hermione. Something you will never be." Emma decided to lay down the law.

" I'm disappointed in you. My own daughter. I remember a time in school you came home in tears, your book bag was torn to shreds. Why ? Because you poked your nose into a prank, told the teachers and paid for it. You haven't changed at all, only this time you're trying to kidnap and interfere in the affairs of someone who could kill you."

* * *

That night, a death eater camp was getting ready for bed. The ministry was on the lookout for death eaters, but they were never very good at it. Besides, why would purebloods of good breeding sleep like animals in fields ? Voldemort didn't care if the death eaters were disgruntled. The last one to argue had been tortured for a month before being allowed the luxury of death.

The camp was over 600 strong, which was why Lady Saint intended to attack it. She sneaked past the muggle repelling wards, set up her own wards and crept into the camp.

The tents, larger on the inside, resembled houses. Because the death eaters were so complacent, it was made easier when Lara crept closer and closing her eyes, started to spin, her hands and arms interlinked in a circle shape. She spun faster and faster, as her arms and hands started glowing. It looked like fire, faster and faster, the halo of energy was growing. By the time Lara was slowing down the fire circle was almost ready for use, swinging both her arms out, the witch let loose the fires.

The wave incinerated the tents and the death eaters before they could react. Some of them might have tried to douse the flames, Lara could hear them scream in agony as they were cooked. None of them actually came out. By the time the wave died down, all that was left of what was once a beautiful field was now a charred ruin, cooked to perfection. Lara, smiling grimly, accessed the wards and isolated the thread which Voldemort used to keep in touch with the security of his camps, and like a suicidal fly, Lady Saint did what she needed to do.

She vibrated the thread.

* * *

Lord Voldemort hadn't been having a nice week, since the Diagon Alley incident he'd been on more potions in his life than was healthy.

Three things made it worse. One, Lara Potter. She was out there, planning something dangerous and, considering the alley incident, it didn't bode well for the evil wizard.

He would need to be careful and make an equally vicious plan to make her pay for the humiliation he'd suffered.

Two. The fact he'd needed Bellatrix as his proxy. Whilst he trusted her with that sort of work, he didn't trust her to properly maintain control over the followers. The death eaters were a rabble when they were leaderless, and whilst Lestrange was capable of maintaining order, she couldn't do it forever.

Three. The fact his magic was still regenerating.

He was shaken from his musings by one of the threads keeping tabs on one of his camps vibrated violently. He raised himself up, ignoring the pain in his body and summoned Lestrange and three other death eaters.

The sight that greeted him when they got there filled him with fury and fear. The camp was ablaze, the grassy field was blackened with soot and fire, the tents were nothing more than tatters of black cloth, there were only a few remains of the death eaters. Charred, bony ones, their bodies and flesh burnt away.

Above them, in the sky, mocking them since they used the same trick, was the figure of a stickwoman with a halo. Under this, written in white against the dark sky, was the legend.

" NOW STARTS THE THIRD FRONT. I'M COMING FOR YOU TOM RIDDLE !" It was signed L.P.

Lara Potter had been here, and she'd started.

What Voldemort and the death eaters with him didn't know was that the worst was to come when they got back to Malfoy manor.


	14. Chapter 14

**Death Eater hunting. **

Lara appeared in Malfoy manor's apparition point, startling a death eater guard. His inaction cost him dearly. Moving quickly before the startled fool could move, she plunged a knife in his chest, before taking out her gun and shooting down two more who'd just come into the room.

The sounds alerted the other inhabitants that there was an intruder. Many of the death eaters were still fatigued, but that didn't matter, they were pureblood witches and wizards, who would be able to tackle them ?

Lady Saint was ready for them, putting herself into a trance before exploding with movement, moving faster than they could believe, she became a living breathing weapon, throwing her own body against the death eaters, some dressed in their night clothes, a witch with a long face fell down with her throat slashed, whilst 6 more died thanks to their own magic poisoning them. A couple even exploded as Lara decided to make the odds more even. Some of the death eaters found it hard to fight since they couldn't cast any spell of any kind, meaning they had to defend themselves muggle style. It was a clumsy move on their parts, since most wizards did nothing to actually exercise their own bodies.

When the last death eater had been killed, Lara turned to face 14 teenagers, some even close to her own age, others were as young as thirteen. Voldemort hadn't been indiscriminate with the ages his army could have, it seemed to Lara as if a five year old could join.

But Lady Saint didn't care, as she teleported in their midst, using hand to hand techniques, she snapped the neck of a pug faced girl, stabbed a red haired girl in the stomach with Belle, plunged Anna into a dark skinned boy and when she finished she found herself staring at two girls, one her own age, and the other aged fourteen. She could feel the dark mark on both their arms. They were both fair game, it was a pity they hadn't used their brains.

Lara didn't do anything, she didn't need to. She poisoned their magic's and set it to the killing curse killing them instantly. Swallowing slightly in regret and sorrow, Lady Saint carried on. She hated the idea of killing her own age group, even younger ones. Unlike Dumbledore, she knew there was no way to rehabilitate them. With the soul bond it was impossible. Death was their only release. It was that simple. Now she'd started she couldn't stop.

Walking into the ball room, she found herself facing the entire inner circle. Looking at them she identified a small majority as the parents of the children she'd just killed. She recognised Lord and Lady Parkinson, along with Mr. Nott.

Oh this was gonna be fun !

Lara's voice was as cold as it was menacing, the death eaters shuddered at the sound of her voice, " I hope you were expecting your children to fight and kill me, well done by the way. Sending kids to fight someone that doesn't fight your way."

One of the witches, probably the mother of those two girls rushed forward, wand in hand, eyes mad with rage and ignoring her husbands arm on her own wrist, even though he was furious as well. Lara took out her gun and killed her. The bullet went right into her head.

" That's for trying to control my life. I swore to make you pay the price. What better way than to murder your family ?"

That started the fight. Lara eyed the death eaters, who were bringing their wands to bear. She decided to let them use magic, but that didn't mean she couldn't have fun with them. Making a note of their positions, she jumped….

…right next to Mr and Mrs Zabini, who she killed instantly with two quick lightening flashes of her daggers….she jumped again, shooting down five death eaters.

The death eaters were startled by this tactic, they milled around trying to fight her. But Lara's jumps made them jumpy, no pun intended.

Lara moved quickly, slicing a death eater here, before jumping and shooting down two more in another part of the room. She was able to navigate easily. The Death eaters were milling about, trying to bring their wands to bear on her, but she was too fast, too quick and agile. They just couldn't hit her with their curses. In fact, quite a few of the death eaters were killed by their own kind rather than having Anna or Belle slash through their throats.

Lara, although she didn't often do this, except for training purposes, was enjoying this. She enjoyed arrogant and ignorant fools being taught lessons which would see them pay a price.

She jumped around the room, picking up speed, killing death eaters, punching them and breaking their necks, slicing their throats and shooting them in their hearts or stomachs. Moving around, Lara disposed of the death eaters, they were making it too easy for her; they were that frightened.

In the next jump, she was startled by the pair of death eaters in front of her; Dolores Umbridge and Cornelius Fudge. The Minister and the senior undersecretary of the minister, they were death eaters.

Lara's face mocked both of them as they brought their wands to bear. She'd gotten over her shock at seeing two people who'd tried to interfere in her plans. Now she'd ensure they'd trouble her no more.

" You're a nasty little witch Potter, it'll give me the greatest of pleasures to make you respect us." Umbridge sneered at Lara.

Lara sneered, " If you're thinking of trying to kill me with magic, don't because I've redirected your magic - " Umbridge snorted and cast the killing curse. She dropped down dead.

" To kill you," Lara mocked, wiping away a fake tear. She whipped out her gun and shot Fudge in the head. The inept fool had been stunned into motionlessness by the death of his own undersecretary that he wasn't able to move before Lara pulled the trigger.

The fool died instantly.

Ignoring the dead politicians and the death eaters, Lara left the room. She wasn't going to let Voldemort destroy the building, she was going to expose the pair of them as death eaters. The lot of them would be known as the animals they were.

Lily was in her husband's arms as Emma and Dan were sitting on the opposite couch, Hermione was reading a book but Lily could see the girl was uncertain. Lily didn't know, nor did she really care if Hermione was concerned about Lara and her disappearance. It was more likely she wanted to ask the only Potter child annoying questions.

Just then Lara appeared, covered in blood, exhausted. Her hair, normally neat, was slightly askew. She sat down, just as Lily attacked her, " Where have you been ? Why are you covered in blood ? You've been gone for hours." Lily was becoming hysterical.

" I've just destroyed a death eater camp, massacred the inner circle and the majority in the Malfoy manor. I also found something interesting…" Lara said, just as James interrupted her.

" Wait, Malfoy manor ? You broke into Malfoy manor ?"

Lady Saint shone through Lara's smile, " Yes, I've destroyed the inner circle. Now all that's needed to make tomorrow perfect is the Daily Prophet."

" Why ?" James asked suspiciously.

Lara's smirk grew larger, " It's a surprise."

The smirk vanished, " I killed quite a lot of death eaters tonight, including the junior members. I've already taken care of them."

Emma was startled and a little scared that someone could talk about murder this calmly, " What have you done ?"

" Displayed them in Diagon Alley, their marks revealed and exposed. That should be a warning, along with the Lady Saint sign, that becoming a death eater is a death sentence. Hopefully it should stall their recruitment processes."

Hermione's know it all tone was out for all to hear, it was so self righteous even her own parents couldn't believe it was their daughter actually speaking, it was like someone else was speaking through Hermione, " You shouldn't have killed them. Some of them may have been forced…"

" No, they weren't," Lara interrupted. " You need to take the mark willingly. They did and it started to warp their personalities. You can't reason with them, ever. "

Lara gave up at that point, realising there was no hope for this by the book girl, " You know what, go back to Dumbledore. He might actually have a use for you. You're certainly no use to me."

Lara went to bed.

**Minister of Magic and Senior undersecretary death eaters ! **

James Potter almost spat out his mouthful of breakfast, the headline almost made him think he was dreaming, Dan looked over his shoulder as he read the news. The news that Fudge and Umbridge were - rather had - been death eaters was hardly news, it was shocking and it startled James. The implications were serious, if the minister and his own second had been marked as death eaters, then how far did the disease Lord Voldemort had let loose contaminate magical politics ?

James couldn't help but wonder what thoughts were running through the heads of both Voldemort and Dumbledore, he guessed that the dark lord would be furious whilst Dumbledore was befuddled. Though whether or not the old man knew that both of them had been death eaters made James think his old headmaster had gone round the bend.

If he had known, why hadn't he done anything ?

What was he trying to prove ? James was drawn out his thoughts by Dan's welcome voice. The muggle dentist had no idea just how welcome his voice really was at that moment.

" What does this mean ?"

James looked at his friend, " Its trouble. I always knew Fudge was easily bribed by Death eaters, allowing them free reign, putting their policies into operation, Umbridge, well she's someone I'd say was a Death eater. But I never, never thought I'd actually see it confirmed. This goes a long way to prove the identities of many of them."

Hermione came in, yawning. She saw the headline and gasped. James looked at her and nodded, even though Lara felt nothing but contempt for her, James felt as though this girl should be nurtured.

" Yep, I never thought it possible. Maybe now the war will be different."

But Hermione was thinking along the lines of something far more different, " But they could've been redeemed."

James shook his head, thinking this girl was far too naïve, but then Lily looked at the newspaper, " I think you're wrong Hermione, Fudge was a political animal. Umbridge was a pureblood bigot, evil and warped. I think they joined willingly, albeit for different reasons."

Emma piped up, " What reasons ?"

" Power," Lily said simply, " Fudge would've wanted to survive on the side of the winners. But Umbridge was out simply for the power of torturing the ones she thought were inferior. People like you, Hermione you could never believe Umbridge was redeemable."

Dan looked into James' face, " What does this mean ?"

James sighed, " Like I said, it means trouble. Fudge and Umbridge were two of the most powerful people in the country, and many were looking to them to help them through the war. It'll be a disaster for the magical world."

Hermione asked the number one question, " What does that mean for Lara ?"

" Nothing. Dumbledore wont do much to stop her, she knows that." Lily said in eating her toast.

" How can you be so sure ?" Emma insisted.

James paused again, " Lara is prophesised into killing Voldemort, she's also got the names of virtually each and every Death Eater, and she's not going to stop until they die."

Lily chimed in, " She calls them the ungodly, and that they need to die."

James nodded at what his wife had just said, " She's not doing anything that many would find reproachable, there are many in the magical world, including Dumbledore's own order, that want the Death eaters to die."

" The only problem is that Dumbledore will know who's doing the killing," Lily pointed out, " Lara did point it out at that encounter when we broke into Lara's manor."

" They wont be able to say anything," A voice spoke from the doorway. They all turned to find Lara. They didn't knw how long she'd actually been standing there, and she didn't say. They knew it would be a waste of time to actually ask the girl. She was wearing a shirt and joggers with simple trainers. By the slight redness of her skin, they saw she'd been jogging.

" I put a spell on Dumbledore and his little band when you broke in, it's similar in some ways to the fidelius charm. Only in this case I laced the speech with magic. If you try telling someone who doesn't know who I am then that person will find themselves unable to speak again." Lara explained as she walked over to the table.

Hermione gulped; she'd been threatened by Lara on quite a few occasions, she'd even seen the other girls abilities. If Hermione needed any more proof this girl was seriously dangerous, this was it. Making people swear to secrecy about something important without them realising it wasn't a picnic. It meant Lara could do what she wanted, whenever she wanted.

She didn't know that she was right. Lara had used the technique before, on criminals. It wasn't something she normally did but she had the ability, and that was all that mattered.

When you were a criminal you needed all the help you could get, it didn't really matter where you got it from yourself as long as the law didn't track it.

Lily and James thought the same thing, and yet they both felt proud that their own daughter hadn't thrown her life away because of vanity. They'd both been afraid of her reasoning when they'd first heard she was a criminal, now they could see that she'd taken some very wise precautions.

Emma and Dan looked at their daughter, " You broke into her home ?"

Hermione looked down, " Yes, Dumbledore took Ron, me and the rest to try and meet her."

Emma frowned, this wasn't the way she'd raised her own daughter. " Hermione Jean Granger, you should know better than to break into someone's home."

" Dumbledore said it wouldn't take long to persuade Lara to join us," Hermione tried to defend her actions, including that of her idol. It never occurred to her that her protest made her even more stupid in Lady Saint's eyes.

Lara looked at her with contempt, so no surprise there, " You and Dumbledore haven't really impressed me. Instead you've pissed me off, you've tried to kidnap me without taking the time to think whether or not I'm more of a hassle than you can imagine, you've continuously threatened me with wands and magic, ignoring the fact that I am more than capable of subduing you and dampening your magic."

Lara looked at her beadily, " Why wont you make it more interesting for me, or have you simply forgotten your imagination ?"

Hermione didn't have an answer.

As the week passed the Death eater casualties rose up and up. Many witches and wizards, especially those that many would hardly imagine as being death eaters, collapsed in the streets of Diagon alley, the ministry and Hogsmeade village. They died as their magic and their life forces were torn from their bodies, further examination showed that they were death eaters.

Amelia Bones had been inundated by the fact that Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge had both been death eaters, the investigation team dispatched to Malfoy manor had managed to identify the slaughtered death eaters, including families like the Parkinson's, the Crabbes and the Goyles. There had been surprises, like the Edgecombes.

But Fudge and Umbridge….

Amelia should've anticipated something like this, and yet she hadn't. but now she'd had time to think it over it did make some sense. Fudge had passed over many decrees over the years, bolstered by the influx of donations by well known Death eaters, many of those affected departments like Amelia's.

Umbridge….she wasn't much of a surprise, Amelia and the ex senior undersecretary had never truly gotten on. Amelia despised the woman, she was the worst form of witch imaginable, and she was the epitome of everything Amelia hated about her own world.

The most surprising thing found at the remains of both sites, the Death eater camp and Malfoy manor, was the sign in the air of a stickwoman with a halo. The muggle born Aurors had told her it was the sign of Lady Saint, a muggle criminal and jewel thief.

But what was it doing above the death eater camp, and the manor of an old magical family ?

Was this Lady Saint a witch ?

These questions nagged Amelia and it wasn't even morning !

Lara, Lily and Emma were in London. They'd all decided to leave for shopping and the fact they had a virtually unlimited amount of cash could see the stores becoming richer.

Hermione was with James and Dan, she'd decided to stay at the manor, and read her way through the entire Potter family library.

Emma's heart clenched at the thought of her only daughter, Hermione had always been authority loving, rule abiding, it didn't occur to her that not everyone in the world wanted to learn. The fact the girl wanted Lara to accept Dumbledore's gospel told Emma that her only living child wasn't being realistic.

Lara was a wild child, she did things by herself, she made her own rules, she lived by her own rules. Dumbledore didn't cross her mind, making Hermione's arguments moot.

Emma looked at Lara. She'd never seen the girl so relaxed, so happy. Emma sighed, she felt a little jealous, even though Lily and Lara were on a sort of probation she did envy their relationship. There was more love between these two than there'd been between Emma and Hermione.

Dan hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said that Hermione had been treating her parents badly, going off without a word, no explanation, always lying.

It hurt her that her own daughter had become someone Emma didn't know. Maybe Lara was right, Hermione was a lost cause.

A/ N What do you think ? Please, leave reviews. I need feedback and people telling me what they like and dislike about my story.


	15. Chapter 15

**Dumbledore's nightmare. **

Amelia Bones was reading the letter she'd just received from Lara Potter. In truth she had expected to hear from her, she just hadn't expected it so soon.

_To Madame Bones,_

_I know you've been busy, but I hope you Can spare time for me. If you remember, I saved your life from a nasty psychopath in Italy a year ago. You've been a brilliant help to me since then, and now I need your help. I want to arrange a meeting, place where Dumbledore, the Ministry where the order's spies are working - people like Tonks, Shacklebolt and others. I want this private. _

_I don't want them to inform him I'm meeting you. As you know he has diverted his attention to me because he's found out I'm the one to defeat Voldemort. _

_The last thing I want is either of them to track me down. Reply by using the mirror I placed in the parcel with the photographs. _

_Say hello to Susan for me. _

_Love _

_Lara Taylor. _

Amelia paused, now she knew or rather had a good idea who'd killed Fudge, Umbridge and wiped out a good portion of Voldemort's army.

Lara Taylor now had her attention.

She opened the parcel and took out the photographs. There, in front of Amelia Bones, was a number of death eaters, including Fudge and his hench bitch. They looked far too lucid to be placed under the imperious curse. Amelia wondered how Lara got them, but decided that could wait when they met. She already had a place to meet them, a place Dumbledore wasn't welcome. The news that his little band had infiltrated her department left her with a bad taste in her mouth.

She took out the mirror and saw it was a two way mirror. A note said, " Use my name, I'll be waiting."

Amelia took a deep breath, " Lara Taylor."

The mirror came alive when she saw Lara's face. Just behind her stood Lily and James, along with Hermione Granger and two people Amelia took to be her parents.

" Hello Lara," Amelia smiled, remembering her well.

Lara nodded, " Amelia. I take it you saw the photos ?"

" I did, I must say I wasn't expecting them. How did you get them ?" Amelia asked with curiosity lacing her voice.

Lara sent a pointed look at the people clustered around her, " I think it's best if we discuss that when we meet in person. Do you have anywhere in mind ?"

Amelia looked puzzled, " Why can't I visit Potter manor ?" She knew that Lara was staying with the Potters. Where else would she be ?

" I wouldn't be surprised if Dumbledore and his bunch of morons were watching the manor. I've shaken off sixteen separate tracking charms in the last few days. I want Dumbledore to have a nightmare when he finds out about you and I meeting."

Amelia was puzzled, " Why do you want Dumbledore to know ?"

" Amelia, Dumbledore loves being in control, knowing everything that goes on. If you come to the manor he'll know, your aurors have more loyalty to him than to you. I want to meet you in private without him knowing until its far too late for him to do anything about it." Lara explained.

Amelia agreed.

At Potter manor, James stood with his arms folded. In truth he was surprised and furious that Dumbledore would spy on him and his family, just as he was shocked and put out Lara didn't share that little piece of information.

" How do you know Amelia Bones ?" Lily asked to break the silence.

Lara looked at them, " Amelia was on holiday in France a year ago when a serial killer tried to kill her niece after kidnapping her. I managed to find her, I'd been looking for him for weeks. I managed to save Susan's life before castrating the bastard."

Emma couldn't help but ask, " How did you become friends with her ? She's a member of your government, isn't she ?"

" Britain isn't my country, I have no country." Lara said quickly, " She's the head of the DMLE, department of magical law enforcement, she's a no nonsense career woman."

She turned to face her parents, " Who do you think informed the Americans, the ICW of the Ministry's attempt to place me somewhere else ? I told Amelia, who figured out who I was very quickly, about my past, why I do what I do, how I've survived for so long without support. Besides, Amelia owes me a favour. This is the last time, but I think she'll be a good friend."

Hermione couldn't keep quiet, " You mean you use her ?"

Lara sneered at her, " Amelia Bones almost lost Susan. You do know Susan's the last heiress of the Bones' family, don't you ? Just like I am of the Potter family," she added to James and Lily's surprise. This was the first and only time they'd heard her admit it.

" I don't use her." Lara carried on, " I admit, she doesn't like the fact that I, the last heiress of an old family, is a thief. Amelia was far from pleased I left my family, and even less pleased to hear that I was neglected. Amelia doesn't trust Dumbledore. In my book, that makes her an ideal ally."

Lara got up and went to get dressed. Before she left she turned to face Hermione, " Oh, I know you tried to break into my room. Don't, if you do you'll find out just how I dealt with some of the death eaters. If you have so much faith in Dumbledore, then go. Fuck off, get the hell out of my sight. You're no use to anyone, in my eyes you're just an insecure little girl, crying for mommy and daddy, no offence," she added to Dan and Emma. " Even to him, you're no use. He didn't rescue you, nor did he make a shred of effort. I don't care, you know nothing. You have no idea how I dealt with the scum."

Lara pointed a finger at the trembling girl, who was frightened by the glow in Lara's green eyes, " I'm telling you now, grow the hell up and get a fucking life. Or you'll become a lonely woman when you get older."

The Ossuary, the ancestral home of the Bones family. It was one of those grand old homes of the magical purebloods. Amelia Bones was pacing up and down the drawing room, waiting for Lara.

Amelia remembered her fear, her horror when the girl she'd raised had been kidnapped. All her old nightmares, of the animals who'd murdered her family because they didn't agree with their twisted leader's plans, the way Susan had been when Amelia had rescued her…

Amelia remembered how Lara Potter, she called herself Taylor, rescued her niece. Amelia had been grateful, so grateful in fact that she'd listened to Potter's story.

The news she'd been neglected and that she'd run away, depending on no one else but herself had been a shock, Lara's resourcefulness surprised her and Amelia had to admit, that when she'd heard what the Potters had done, she'd been ready to take her wand and introduce them to some very nasty curses.

Lily and James Potter were old friends, the Potters had been allied to the Bones family, being light sided it was natural, but she'd never have imagined the Potters, under Dumbledore's unwanted and unwarranted advice, had neglected an innocent girl.

Dumbledore. Amelia's jaw clenched at the thought of the meddling old man, why the old fool couldn't stop poking his overly long nose into the lives of other people was beyond Madame Bones' comprehension.

She had been more than happy that she'd found a kindred spirit with Lara.

Amelia was shaken from her thoughts by Lara's voice, " Hello Amelia," that greeting changed to, " Whoa ! I'm not gonna hurt you." when Amelia swung round, wand out and a curse ready.

Amelia narrowed her eyes, " I hate it when you do that, remember that time I cursed you ?"

Lara grinned, she couldn't help it. Amelia, whilst formidable, was funny. She held her hands up in a gesture of surrender, but Amelia knew that was a joke. Amelia took the time to study her, Lara was dressed like a typical playgirl. But Amelia knew it was a mask.

Lady Saint, yes she knew now about Lara's criminal identity, it made perfect sense, never surrendered.

" I do," Lara agreed amiably, " I also remember how I retaliated. I think you ended up in St. Mungo's for….what was it ? A month ? Two ?"

Amelia clenched her jaw, before she smiled. Like Lara found her hilarious, ignoring her formidable attitude, Amelia saw a lot of herself in this girl.

But she knew Lara wouldn't agree to that.

Putting her wand away Amelia stood up, smiling evilly, " What do you want to see me about ? I know you Lara, you hate asking for help."

Lara nodded, bowing slightly. Amelia led her to a chair and they sat down.

" I'm the one killing the death eaters," Lara said, deciding to confess. " I also killed the death eaters in Malfoy manor, that's where I met Fudge and his toad."

Amelia nodded, " I guessed. I do know only you have a symbol like the one seen over that camp, and Malfoy manor. To be honest, I was expecting to hear from you," Amelia also confessed. One good turn deserves another, after all.

Lara shrugged, leaning back into her seat, " I've been busy, for the last year I've been preparing for something a little bigger."

Amelia leant forward, " What's that ?"

Lara smiled, closed her eyes and opened them again a moment later, " I'm sick of the magical world, I'm sick of the dark lords and ladies, sick of the ministry allowing the bigotry. Ever since I came back to magical Britain and set up shop here, I've stopped muggle baiting. It's still happening out there, right under your nose Amelia, Fudge himself made sure of that."

Amelia couldn't believe what she was hearing, " Are you saying that Fudge…?" she stopped as understanding flooded her mind.

" He did often order the sensors in the ministry to be overhauled," she whispered, comprehension of Fudge's crimes starting to fit the jigsaw she saw in her brain.

Lara stayed quiet while her friend did this.

Amelia turned to face her, " How long was Fudge a death eater ?"

Lara handed out a folder, then broke into a lengthy explanation, the prophecy, Dumbledore's interpretation of the fucking thing, making a summary of finding out about the horcruxes and the separation of the one in her head, the piece that allowed her to make Voldemort's life a complete hell by destroying his followers.

Lara also told Amelia about how Dumbledore had tried to kidnap her, twist her around to his way of thinking and how she had eluded them. Then she got to the most puzzling bit.

" I found a death eater presence in London, I did some investigating and something is definitely happening. The death eaters seem to have built a base in the city, but there are no attacks, no dark marks. The fact it's the muggle section of the city means the ministry wont investigate it."

Amelia's eyebrows shot up. Lara was right, when it came down to it the magical world didn't give a damn about what happened in the muggle world, if a wizard killed one then too bad. What she didn't understand was why the death eaters were building a base.

She referred this to Lara, who seemed to have an educated guess.

" I think their preparing an invasion. They can already apparate in and around the city, but this way they can co-ordinate their attacks. The base isn't finished yet, meaning I still have time. While I'm there I'll interrogate anyone who's there." Lara explained.

Amelia nodded her head, " I wish an auror would go with you, it would be less hassle."

" Yes, but to do that the operation would need the auror to be someone who isn't a blood head or a Dumbledore lover. I've had more than enough from him, thank you very much."

Amelia closed her eyes at the thought of some of her aurors. Shacklebolt, Tonks and Jones were three of her best, the fact they'd let her down this way….

She looked at Lara, " Get down to business, please Lara. I know you to well. What is it you want ? You'd never give me this information without good reason."

Lara gave a feral grin, " I know you were sworn in as minister only yesterday."

Amelia nodded slowly, wondering where this was going and already she was starting to get a bad feeling in her stomach, " Yes."

Lara's grin widened, it looked like her face was about to split in half. " I want you to legalise what I'm doing. I want you to make me a death eater hunter. Look, hear me out. By now, Voldemort will want to kill me, Dumbledore will try and make me out to be a dark witch. Which I am not. I didn't use much magic. But I'm not ready for a confrontation with Voldemort, I still have to wipe out his death eaters and finalise the details with the goblins."

" Why do you want to do this ?" Amelia questioned. Knowing Lara as she did, it was probably for a good reason.

" Because I want the magical world to get off its arse and actually prove to Voldemort he can't take over. Their complacency and their sticking their collective heads in the sand makes the matter far worse than it should. If you add in that anyone can subdue a death eater, then you can move in and actually extract a confession and ignore this " I was under the imperious " shit. With that proof, then the death eaters will have lost a weapon they se far too frequently. Make yourself a leader, like I know you are," Lara said passionately.

Amelia thought it over, but then Lara added the cherry to the already delicious cake.

" Plus it would give Dumbledore a heart attack."

If you needed anymore proof that Amelia wasn't anything like Fudge, this was it. He'd have run a poll, but with Amelia it was whether or not it would make Dumbledore look like an unwanted advisor. Which he was. But Lara knew also that Amelia Bones was one for justice, and the death eaters had taken her family from her.

So revenge also worked.

" I thought Lara had told you to stay away from her room." Emma told her daughter.

Hermione dropped her wand as Emma walked up to her. Hermione flushed.

Emma was really starting to see Hermione in the worst light imaginable. Never had she, in all the time Hermione had come home from bullying, from school, from that…that school, that she'd actually break into someone's home that she'd meddle in some other girls life.

But Hermione had proven her wrong.

Emma folded her arms, " Why are you doing this ? And don't give me any excuses, answer me. Why are you constantly proving Lara's opinion of you ?"

Hermione looked up fiercely, " She wont listen to me, or to Dumbledore. He'll help her, I'm sure he will."

" But she doesn't want his help, he certainly didn't help us." Emma pointed out, then she threw her arms up. " You know what, go, just leave and don't come any where near your parents again. You obviously don't care about us. You treat us like dirt, you go off without a word to strangers, you break the laws we told you were vital to society and now your breaking my heart." Tears appeared in Emma's eyes.

Hermione watched as her mother broke down sobbing, as she went over to her, her mother went mad, " Go away. You are not my daughter, you stopped when you went to that fucking school ! You are nothing more than a selfish, shallow bitch. You aren't even human, you're an automaton, you always say, " Dumbledore this," " Dumbledore knows best," what the hell has Dumbledore done for me or your father ? Nothing ! He didn't save our lives when we were attacked by people you never spoke about. The one person who saved us is more human than you are, at least she thinks for herself."

Emma got up and ran to her room. Hermione was left outside Lara's room, her wand in her hand, listening to her mother's gut wrenching sobs.

The death eater base certainly hadn't been difficult to find, Lady Saint had observed the place for the last month, her breaking in wasn't an obstacle either. The death eaters were less of a threat and more of an annoyance. The worst thing was dealing with them.

Lara sighed. She'd spent the best part of an hour here, making it worth it and she'd found out only a small amount of information. That wasn't surprising. Lord Voldemort trusted no one, that philosophy ran in the ranks of his organisation; he was the only one who knew what was happening.

Lara set the place on fire and spray painted a wall with the Lady Saint symbol, then left.

Hermione was trying to talk to Lily, to find out why no one trusted her. Lily at first didn't say a word, but that changed when she found out what had happened.

" Lara told you not to touch her room, why wont you just leave her alone ?"

Hermione started on one of those automatic replies that made her so disliked, " I was trying to find out what she was doing so I could inform Dumbledore - "

She stopped when she found herself looking down a wand Lily was pointing at her, " I don't want to use this on you Hermione. But I want you to listen to me."

Lily put down her wand and sat down on a chair. " Dumbledore has interfered with my life, my family's lives for years. Because of him I lost a good portion of my life. I've always wanted children Hermione, and when the twins were born I was delighted. What does the old fool do ? He talks about a prophecy that just happens to describe one of my children defeating the dark lord. Then I neglected Lara after Voldemort's attack, those years I can never repay for her. She's spent years as a thief. That wasn't what I wanted for my children. Now Dumbledore, and Molly Weasley, wants my daughter for their own purposes. One wants her to become a martyr, the other wants her for her " one big happy family," disregarding the fact Lara hates her and her brood."

Lily gave her a pointed look, " Why don't you start seeing things from Lara's point of view ? Hermione, you're walking on thin ice with me, your parents, James and Lara. Why can't you see that ?"

" Dumbledore can help her, he can train her." Hermione insisted, unwilling to let go of the argument, much to the older woman's dismay.

I'm talking to a brick wall, Lily thought grimly. " Lara doesn't want Dumbledore anywhere near her." she reminded the reticent teenager.

Hermione backed down seeing that she wasn't going to get anywhere.

Lara didn't come back until morning, where she'd been was anyone's guess, no one could question her because she went straight to bed. But James found the answer in the daily prophet.

" **Minister legalises Lara Potter, death eater hunter !"**

The article went on to describe the secret negotiations between Lara and Amelia, the minister had sworn a magically binding oath that no one from the ministry would interfere or even try to hinder Lara's actions against the Death eaters.

The fact she'd been out and wiped out another 60 death eaters made her new status even more legitimate.

James looked at the article in greater detail, it detailed the death eaters in London and also their base, but nothing more than that. James pondered the article, the fact his daughter was now legally allowed to kill the death eaters worried and frightened him. The Potters were still leery about the necessity of killing them, even if Lara had pointed out that their souls had been twisted by Voldemort.

But he had to admit it was better than reading about the house elves whom had been freed, only to be taken in by new masters who wanted the secrets of their former employers.

Dumbledore strode through the Ministry of magic, a purple hand clutched the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.

Amelia was just reading through the day schedule when Dumbledore burst in, without knocking. Amelia was still looking through the reports when an impatient Dumbledore loudly cleared his throat, " Minister, I have to protest about Lara Potter being made a death eater hunter."

Amelia looked up, " Why is it any of your concern ?"

Albus was trying to hold down his temper, it wouldn't do to intimidate Amelia since it would do no real good.

He threw down the paper on the desk, Amelia quirked an eyebrow up at him. " If I do something, then I do something. It's of no concern to you."

" But, she's now allowed to take lives."

" Again, so what ? Who cares if they're killed ? I certainly don't, they killed members of my family, and they wouldn't have hesitated to murder a baby girl." Amelia spoke coldly.

But Dumbledore was too obstinate to take the hint, " The death eaters can be redeemed."

" Not according to Lara's studies," Amelia pointed out, revealing a piece of information Lara had given her. " She claims the dark marks warp the souls of the death eaters, she also claims that the death eater has to perform terrible deeds just to be given the mark."

Dumbledore couldn't and didn't want to believe that, " She's wrong."

Amelia shook her head, " Dumbledore, she performed that research in America, they have far greater magical resources than we do, plus they have Wiccan magical users. I think her research is genuine. Besides, it makes sense. Lucius Malfoy didn't leave the death eaters, in fact he rejoined the dark lord and continued being a death eater. Where's the evidence he was under the imperious curse ? Lara's information is accurate. Algernon Croaker has already told me so. It just so happens he's more informed than you are, you just make light headed guesses."

Dumbledore shook his head and changed the subject, " But Madam Minister, Lara Potter is a crucial figure in the war. She must be protected."

" I agree," Amelia said, startling the old man and even pleasing him. That changed quickly, revealing it to be an illusion, " She needs protecting, from you, she told me that you've tried to kidnap her, even breaking into her home. Leave her alone Albus."

Dumbledore's day was getting worse. What he didn't realise was that this was going to become a daily occurrence to him.


	16. Chapter 16 The Lawless Lady

**The Lawless Lady.**

Hermione Granger was sitting on her bed in Potter manor, alone, and unwanted. Hermione knew how that felt, all too well. She'd felt that pain and horror at Primary school, then at Hogwarts. Now here, at Potter manor of all places. The last place she'd expected to feel like a stranger.

Hermione was so frustrated that her second chance was no better than the old chance, but it was her own fault and she knew it. But she didn't know how to solve the problem.

Hermione knew that everyone was right, of course she did. How could she not ? Hermione Granger was driven by logic, if not common sense, she knew that Dumbledore wasn't the lily white man he portrayed to everyone else. Hermione had truly been let down by Dumbledore, not only had he abandoned her but also seemed willing to let her and her family die in a senseless assault by the death eaters.

The only reason she supported the elderly wizard was because she had no one else to turn to; Madam Bones, although capable, Hermione knew nothing about her, and she was afraid that she'd be let down again if she put herself under Bones' wing. Why the hell should she accept Hermione ? She had nothing to offer the new minister of magic and everyone knew it.

Hermione could do research, she could cast spells, but she wasn't Auror material and she knew it. Hermione would try and stun death eaters, but now the ministry was adopting the kill or be killed. Killing people wasn't something Hermione could ever do.

So what use was she to anyone ?

Dumbledore had never asked for her help, he only tolerated her because the Weasley's did, and Hermione hadn't realised that until she'd discovered that the red headed league were blood bigots. But the headmaster….if he'd really wanted help he could've selected an older girl or boy, someone with her ability to research. That revelation hurt Hermione, shattering her faith in authority figures. Even Professor McGonagall, her idol, didn't seem to care about her, though whether or not that meant she was too deep with Dumbledore, she didn't know nor did she care. Her favourite professor had let her down.

Lara was a possibility, but the other girl didn't trust her, not one little bit, and Hermione couldn't blame her for it. Lady Saint, as Lara called herself, didn't trust anyone. She barely trusted her own parents, but the girl had learnt to tolerate them, but Hermione was always preaching to Lara, making Dumbledore out to be a good man, a man who could help her with anything, including the war, ignoring the fact Lara had already made more progress than the Order ever had in months. She'd injured the dark lord, killed many of his followers, sent them running in fear. What had Dumbledore and the order done ?

Nothing. All they'd done was hold meetings and do very little. No strategies, no plans for counterattacks. Not Lara, she made counterattacks in much the same way Hermione and other people breathed. She was continuously coming up with new tactics every second, or virtually every second.

Hermione turned that thought to the back of her mind as she thought more about the let downs she'd endured.

Then again, the let downs had been occurring for sometime now; the discovery that the Weasleys, Ron especially, were blood bigots, was a truly painful revelation. When she'd first gone to Hogwarts, Hermione had had no one, then, at Halloween, in a twist of fate, she'd become friends with Harry Potter, the supposed boy who lived , and Ron Weasley.

It hadn't been an ideal friendship, Hermione concluded sadly, the two boys had treated her like a dogsbody, ironically, she thought that they treated her like a house elf. Hermione had a small smile as she thought about that, all the time she'd been trying to free elves in slavery from wizards and here she was, a servant to two boys that were more alike than people would give them credit for. The irony disturbed and frightened Hermione. Harry had been an egomaniac, driven by fame and fortune, by the adoring masses of the wizards and witches, who didn't realise they'd made a big mistake by worshiping the wrong child.

Ron was no better, he was lazy, arrogant, full of himself, unwilling to live up to his ambitions, willing to sit back and let everything come to him on a silver platter when his brother's who'd had ambitions had worked for them all their lives; Bill had been Head boy, later a curse and ward breaker, Charlie, a dragon handler, Fred and George, who'd opened a joke shop bordering on the insane and Percy Weasley, a rule abiding goody, goody who made Hermione's own authority figure loving persona look like a blind puppy looking for a good whacking, and even Hermione found Percy stifling, how Penny Clearwater coped was beyond her comprehension. She only hoped the other girl would dump the insufferable bore soon.

Hell, even Ginny had more talent than Ron, she understood the need for hard work and she did it well, but not Ron. He was willing to stand back and let everything happen to him, head boy, prefect, Quidditch captain…he had no problem dreaming of these things but he had no intention of actually working for any of his ambitions. It was so sad, Hermione was willing to work for everything she wanted to do, she was willing to work herself to death to achieve her dreams.

It was truly painful, Hermione was just starting to realise that she'd never had any friendships. All she had left was her love for authority figures, and even that had shoved her parents away from her. When she'd been growing up her parents were pretty much her only friends, no one else. Hermione had been desperate for friends, and yet she couldn't get it into her head that people found her love for authority figures, let alone the fact she continuously told the teachers of pranks and jokes. Her Parents had held her as she cried as she'd come home from the hell that was primary school, her books ripped apart, her clothes smudged in muck. They had helped her. How was she repaying them now ?

Now, she was pushing her parents away. Hermione had honestly thought that she had made a new life in the magical world, but she hadn't seen how much of a detrimental effect that would've been for her parents. Her parents had said that she was treating them like dirt, that she was going off with strangers without saying a word.

Hermione had honestly thought she was doing it for their own good, for their own protection, but she forgot something about her parents. They were far from stupid, and they didn't like to be treated like that by anyone, including their own daughter.

Hermione turned her mind back to those times, when someone from the Order turned up and took her, either when she was on holiday with her family, and…

And she'd left without protest, without explanation. Was it any wonder why her parents were heart broken now ? No, it wasn't, and Hermione had never even noticed. Just like she hadn't noticed a lot of things.

Had she really become disdainful towards her parents ? Had she become the sort of witch she hated above all else ? Hermione despised the death eaters, she despised the pure blood supremacists, the ignorance of the magical world filled her with unbelievable horror, she had never ever imagined that she'd rank high in their ranks.

It was unthinkable.

Then again, there were her thoughts of the only other Potter child left.

Lara was everything Hermione had wanted to be; she was highly intelligent, beautiful, enjoyed reading and solving problems and puzzles, yet she was able to have fun. Hermione had tried, truly tried, to become an expert horse rider, but she'd been bucked from them so many times that her dad had forbidden her from even going near even a donkey. Hermione had seen the pictures of Lara obtaining masteries in magic, seen the certificates on the walls of her home, and she'd been jealous. Lara had learnt things Hermione hadn't thought about, but then again she'd seen more of the world than the bushy haired witch, endured more pain and agony than Hermione had. What Hermione had seen paled in comparison with what Lara had seen. Besides, Lara didn't trust authority figures because the ones she had known had caused her more pain and grief. Was it any wonder Lara had no trust or faith in Dumbledore ? Her relationship with her parents confused Hermione, she'd witnessed Lara threaten Lily and James once before, but now they seemed to have some form of understanding.

Hermione felt pity for the Potters, even though she knew they'd never accept it.

Lara had other qualities that she found unusual; she was a thief, a highly successful thief, the story of the Mona Lisa had made headline news, how Lady Saint had stolen the masterpiece and sold it, or rather copies and made a fortune, before returning it. It had also revealed who was actually doing the buying, politicians all of them.

Hermione hadn't thought about it, but she could see it had been a planned operation, Lara had known who'd wanted the Mona Lisa, and simply gave it to them on a plate, exposing them as she went. But she'd made a fortune out that particular heist.

Hermione's own observations of the girl hadn't gone as well as she'd have liked. Lara didn't trust her, and frankly Hermione didn't really blame her for that. The Order had tried to kidnap her, they had broken into her home, and worst of all, in Lara's eyes, they'd poked their noses into Lara's life. Not a good move. The girl had retaliated with everything she had.

Why would Lara trust her ? what could she offer Lara ? Nothing, Hermione thought sadly. In many ways she was envious of Lara, Hermione had never been one for physical training, but the other girl had talents there Hermione, who'd always been one for intellectual stimuli, but there Lara superseded her again in that pursuit as well. Hermione hadn't been trying to break into Lara's room for intelligence and espionage purposes, she had been trying to learn more about the girl herself, trying to find common ground.

Hermione realised it might not have worked, that sort of thing didn't work with other, normal girls. Why should it work with Lara, Lady Saint ?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, " Come in," she said quietly, but loud enough for the person on the other side to get the message.

James Potter came in quietly, " I want to talk with you."

Hermione nodded, and then watched as James sat down. The older man watched her silently for a moment before he started to speak, " I hope you're happy Hermione, you've managed to push your parents away, people who love you unconditionally."

" Now, wait a minute…." Hermione started angrily.

" No, you listen to me," James snapped angrily, irritated that he'd interrupted. Hermione backed down from the angry wizard; she could feel the magic and anger rolling around, it was a heady mix. And frightening.

James carried on, " Your parents love you Hermione, and you've let them down. I know you Hermione, more than you think. Me and my wife have lost a lot to Dumbledore, virtually our whole lives, including both our children."

James was silent, too choked up to focus properly, " Dumbledore is a leech, he's taken virtually everything away, from me, from Lily, and now he's tried to do the same with your parents. He tried to take you away from Dan and Emma. You know the worst part of it ? You let him do it."

Hermione had already figured that out, but she stayed quiet because she could sense the other wizard wasn't finished. That he was far from finished.

" When the twins were born I felt like I could conquer the world, that I could fight off every single filthy death eater single handed and not even get a scratch," James smiled as he remembered. That smile vanished when he carried on with his monologue, " Hermione, when Dumbledore told us and the Longbottoms could give birth to the saviour of the magical world, we weren't thrilled, we were terrified. We'd only just had children, we wanted lives. We didn't want them to suffer, what does Dumbledore do ? He tells us one of our three children would be the one to defeat the most evil dark lord in the history of magical world. We were frightened, but we allowed him to hide us. You know the rest," he looked down at his hands.

But he looked back up at her, his face pale with grief. Hermione gasped as she saw the level of pain in James' eyes.

" Dumbledore took our children's lives from us, not just Lily and me, but Frank and Alice as well. They've paid the price for our alliance with Dumbledore; Frank and Alice, as you know, were members of the Order, Aurors like me and Sirius Black, we both defied Voldemort three times which made us prime candidates for the prophecy. That fucking thing destroyed our lives Hermione, Dumbledore doesn't care about that fact. Do you see him rushing to help Frank and Alice ? They've lost their minds, Neville is in the care of Augusta and we barely see him, Neville and Harry never got along and Augusta hasn't forgiven us for that party or the humiliation Neville suffered from Harry at Hogwarts."

Hermione listened as James poured out his grief, but now she couldn't stop herself, " Mr Potter, I already know Dumbledore's not the man I thought he was. But I don't know any better. I'm like a little girl, lost and alone -"

" Like my daughter was," James interrupted. Hermione fell silent again as James continued his monologue of pain and grief.

" Hermione, because of me, Lily and Dumbledore, Lara had been neglected, we treated her like most purebloods treat you and Lily. When I held her in my arms for the first time, I never ever imagined myself doing that." James wasn't even aware of the tears running down his face, " Dumbledore poked and prodded his way into our lives and now he wants to take her away from us again, not realising he's making one mistake after another."

James got up to leave. He could see that Hermione was starting to see sense, but hoped her tendency to religiously praise the old fart wouldn't get in the way of her logic.

Hermione had to ask one question, " She tolerates you, do you have a problem with that ?"

James stopped, anger warring with his will not to break down in fury, " If that's the only relationship I can have with her, then so be it." he turned to face her, his eyes burning with anger, " don't you ever condescend to me again, don't you ever think you can judge me. If toleration is all I'll have left from my daughter, then so be it. It's more than I deserve."

* * *

Lara was sitting in the goblin office in Gringott's, waiting. She'd been here for the past hour and was trying to stop herself from getting bored. Lara had the ability to visualise mental exercises. The puzzles made it possible for Lara to keep her mind off other things, sudooku was probably the most intellectually challenging game, but it was logical and it exercised the grey muscle in her skull.

Plus, it also made it possible for her exercise her patience. The goblins had been unbelievably busy recently, the fact she'd started killing off the death eaters were giving the goblins a lot to do. The number of families she'd killed off made it rather tricky for her to actually give the goblins their money to destroy the horcruxes.

Lara sat back, stretching like a cat in her seat, and waited.

Finally, the goblin appeared, looking surlier than ever.

Lara got up in greeting, getting only an absent nod in return. As the goblin opened his book, he focused on her as if realising she was there for the first time.

" Ah, Miss Taylor, or should that be Miss Potter ?" the goblin asked in a passable polite tone.

Lara had noticed that she didn't have the same level of dislike for her real name as she had done in the past. In the past many people to even call her Potter had been admitted to hospital for severe bone fractures.

But now she didn't know.

" With virtually everyone calling me that, I don't mind. Just don't do it too often, it makes it all the more surreal," Lara said quietly.

The goblin nodded, knowing only too well what this witch was capable of. He moved on with the subject at hand.

" I must say, you've helped us pay for the destruction of the horcruxes. We were lucky to confiscate the monies of quite a few witches and wizards who were too stupid to know any better."

Lara leant forward, " Is it possible to see them destroyed ?"

" We've already done it," the goblin said, knowing that if he lied then he'd be executed, but she knew he wasn't lying; the goblins hated horcruxes and everything they stood for.

The goblins, while not lily white, had standards, but splitting the soul was pushing immortality a little too far. Lara knew that already, but she didn't trust the goblins.

Lara asked, " Have you already destroyed them with the list I gave you ?"

" Yes, the only one left is the snake." the goblin informed her.

" Let me worry about that one." Lara wore a smirk on her face, she already had a plan to top Nagini and make Voldemort piss himself in absolute terror. Lara looked the goblin in the eye, " Is it possible to see the horcruxes ?"

Lara had seen quite a few things in her life, but this surprised even Lady Saint. The goblin had lead her to a room that looked like something out of a bad Doug McClure movie.

The room was massive, blood red rock lined in dragon or troll bone and tapestries depicting goblins fighting their enemies, wizards falling at the hands of goblins. A far cry from the stupid condescending racist statue in the ministry of magic, here Lara was certain these tapestries told more truth than the lying history books the magical world sold.

Lara wasn't surprised that the goblins would display that, along with weapons that looked both old and - wait, was that blood ? Lara shuddered, thinking that the goblins had very unique views of decoration.

The room also had a massive table, on top of it was a white cloth which contrasted with the dark table. Lara walked over to it. On it was a number of artefacts but what really caught the thief's eye was the jars. They were made of bone with some translucent, almost opaque, material that let her see in, inside Lara could see that there was something moving inside it.

It looked like a cloud, a wraith. Lara remembered Ghostbusters, but this….it was like looking at a piece of smoke, grit, a piece of fantasy, a piece of spirit and a piece of fire. The horcrux, as far as people were concerned, didn't have a physical form, but the goblins knew they did.

They looked like smoke with a slight physical form, but there was something in there that reminded her of a blacksmiths' shop. There were sparks in there. The jars vibrated but the soul pieces were immobile. Thankfully.

The goblin by Lara's side broke her out of her thoughts, " As you can see the soul pieces are almost ready."

Lara couldn't take her eyes off the jars, " How are they contained ?"

" There's a complex web around the jars, the soul pieces cannot approach because the soul is dissolved slightly by the magic in the web."

Lara nodded. " How soon before you can destroy the pieces ?"

" Now."

Lara watched as the ritual took place, just as the light in the hall lowered. The soul pieces in the jars were illuminated as the goblins started to chant, as they chanted Lara noticed the pieces attacking the sides of the jars in a clear and desperate attempt to escape. It seemed that the web the goblin had told her about was paradise compared to this. Lara's natural curiosity wanted to know what was happening, but the goblin was still chanting, and the last thing she wanted to do was offend the goblins.

The soul jars started to smoke as the souls inside of them started to burn, at last the goblins chanted the last part of the ritual, and with a final burst of light the horcruxes of Lord Voldemort died.

* * *

Lara had no idea that outside, the death eaters were ready for their attack on Diagon alley. Their master, even when weak, was still commanding. Morale in the magical world had risen due to the death of many of their number, but it never occurred to them to run. If they had run, then the Aurors wouldn't really have bothered themselves with them, but Lady Saint would hunt them down eventually, but then again pureblood wizards and witches didn't really do much thinking as a rule. The death eaters knew only too well who was doing the killing, but they didn't realise she was here, now, in the same alley they were. If they had they would've run.

Lara had put her disguise back on to walk through the crowds again. She agreed with Dumbledore on only one point except for different reasons, she didn't want to be attacked by anyone in the streets, death eater or Order member, so the disguise was necessary for her. Besides, Lady Saint had never felt safe without some form of protection on her person.

The attack started when Lara walked down the steps of Gringotts, it started when Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the last of the Inner circle of death eaters, threw off her heavy cloak and starting firing curses.

As soon as the crazy bitch launched the first curses, the others followed suit. They were low level death eaters, hardly out of school, they were also inexperienced but they were confident that they were going to do well. All they had to do was simply fire curses at the crowd, that wasn't complicated. But they didn't know who was in the alley.

Lady Saint whipped out her guns and fired at the death eaters, throwing off her own disguise as she did. When the first 4 death eaters fell to the ground, the others realised who was here.

They were about to withdraw, but Lestrange stopped them, " You leave and the dark lord will punish you severely, besides, I want this bitch !"

Lestrange's eyes were bulging in insanity, her mouth was foaming like a rabid dog as she regarded Lara, this bitch was responsible for injuring her beloved dark lord. She would pay, with her blood.

She sneered at Lara, " Well, itty bitty Potter, hope you're ready to die. You mutilated my lord, you - "

" Oh, shut up bitch." Lara's insult was punctuated by a gunshot that barely_, barely_, missed Bellatrix's head by a mere inch.

That started the fight between them. It was a fight that would be talked and whispered about for years to come; Bellatrix Lestrange, mad death eater, versus Lara Potter, Lara Taylor, Lady Saint.

Lestrange fired a killing curse at Lara, but she conjured a block of stone. The curse impacted on the rock and it crumbled into dust and rubble. Lara lifted her hand, levitating the rubble and throwing the debris at the mad death eater.

Bellatrix growled angrily, her eyes bulging even more as she fired curses at the high velocity bits of rock, only they separated even more and impacted like bullets against the other death eaters. The other death eaters tried to interfere, hoping to get into their insane commanders' good books, only pissing her off even more.

Bellatrix threw a killing curse at a couple of the younger fools, forgetting momentarily the dark lords new standing rule; do not kill any death eater. The surprised death eaters stayed still. Their last mistake as they fell to the ground. Lara took care of the rest, freezing their magic into the cruciatus curse, torturing them before Lara was merciful.

It wasn't long afterwards that Dumbledore and his pathetic band of heroes appeared, but Lara and Bellatrix paid them no heed. In fact, Lara made sure of that, she created a dome of magical energy, it would block incoming spells and outgoing spells. Lara knew this was a challenge, but Bellatrix Lestrange deserved what she got. If she wanted a fight, she'd give the deranged bitch a fight she'd never forget.

Lara gritted her teeth as she accessed the battle, keeping her mind and eyes of the wand Lestrange was using, mentally cataloguing the curses and spells coming from it.

It was a certainly gruelling fight.

Lestrange was mostly being offensive instead of defensive, her spells and technique was designed to actually force Lara to be on the defensive, lining her up to be killed by a passing curse. Lady Saint put her guns away, she wouldn't need them anyway. She had an idea in her mind. It was crude and would require intense luck, but it might just work.

Lara concentrated on her magic in her hands, concentrating on creating the necessary spells. Two balls of fire were forming in her hands. They were the size of tennis balls but there was no time to wait for them to grow larger. She threw them at Lestrange. The death eater cursed, hissed more like, as she dodged, but one caught her cloak, setting it alight.

It took her only a minute to put it out, but it was enough for Lara.

When the death eater managed to get the fire under control she swung around to end this game and finally put an end to Lara Potter, and make the dark lord truly proud of her.

When she actually looked around she screamed in anger and frustration.

Lara had vanished.

" Coward !" Bellatrix screamed, thinking that her young enemy had actually ran away like a coward from this fight. Her overconfidence would be her undoing.

A shimmer right next to her caught her eye, just as Lady Saint punched her in the jaw, probably breaking it in the process. Bellatrix's head rocked as she fell, but her enemy didn't give her a chance to fight her back. Lara kicked the wand that had been responsible for the deaths and tortures of many of innocent lives, she gripped Bellatrix and picked her off the ground, but she didn't give the stunned and tired death eater time to react.

Lady Saint held the bitch by the neck as she punched and kicked the woman in the face and actually broke her leg. Bellatrix tried to resist but Lara was stronger than her, not to mention she was fast and quick.

Lestrange couldn't understand what happened next; one moment she'd been beaten virtually to death by this bitch, next moment she found herself on the ground. Lestrange actually found herself sighing in delight and contentment as she rested on the ground.

Her relaxation didn't last.

Lara picked her up by the legs and swung her. Round and round, Lara spun around, gathering the right level of momentum and velocity before bringing down the field around her and the battle zone. Lestrange was just about to be sick but then she was let go.

Considering the amount of speed and the number of times she'd actually been spun before she hit the window, Lestrange knew she'd had quite a few of her bones broken as she was thrown inside this shop. As she lay there, she was almost about to pass out from the agony she was in.

No such luck, as Lestrange was picked up and punched through the same window again. Lestrange was thrown onto the street and was just able to lift her head. Her eyes found something wooden, a stick that felt familiar. Her wand. Exhaustion was replaced by anticipation as she could hear Potter stepping out of the shop, her boots crunching on the glass on the ground.

Wrapping her fingers securely around the handle of her wand, Lestrange waited. She groaned again, pretending to be almost out of it like she had before. Lestrange rolled over, a curse on her tongue, as she heard the bitch come closer to her.

She fired a cutting curse at Lara's shoulder, managing to catch the other girl by surprise.

Lara fingered the blood on her shoulder, before facing Lestrange. Potter had a faraway look in her eyes as she regarded Lestrange.

Everyone watched in horror as her eyes glowed and became more feral, Lady Saint gave herself to her rage as she magically threw Lestrange around the alley, knocking her wand out of her hand as she did. It was stepped on and snapped as someone carelessly stepped on it to get out of the way.

Dumbledore tried to intervene, but Lara's rage knew no bounds as she threw the death eater around the alley, knocking the old wizard down, smashing shops and against walls. By the time Lara brought the death eater back, Lestrange had lost the will to fight. The Dark lord be damned.

Lara was still enraged, and she held Lestrange up by one hand, whilst slashing her with a hand that glow like a blue St. Elmo's fire. The effect it had on Lestrange was terrifying; making a chopping motion, Lara slashed off Bellatrix's right arm !

Lestrange screamed in pure agony brought everyone up short, as she felt the decapitation of her limb before Lara let her go, taking out her gun as she did and putting a bullet in her head, winning the one sided fight.

Lara looked into the eyes of Albus Dumbledore, and clicked her fingers and vanished.

* * *

Amelia Bones was busy her office, the attack and skirmish in Diagon Alley meant that there was a lot of extra work for her and her new DMLE head, Charlotte Pondweed, were very much ploughed down with work. The role of Head of the DMLE should've gone to Shacklebolt, but the man was too close to Dumbledore. Lara had warned Amelia that something like this might occur, so Amelia wasn't so surprised. She knew now messy her young friend was, what Amelia hadn't anticipated was how soon it would be.

The last thing she or her new DMLE head needed was a visit from Dumbledore. Amelia looked up when the sanctimonious old bastard walked in the room as if he owned it. She looked down again at the reports.

" We're extremely busy Dumbledore, if you have something to say please make it brief."

Dumbledore was feeling more than excellent, he was excited. Here, right in front of him, was the perfect way to gain control of his weapon and make her sway to his side of things.

He was so elated that he decided to ignore the minister's rudeness.

" I apologise, I've just witnessed Lara Potter maim Bellatrix Lestrange."

" So has 6 of my Aurors, and the owners of the shops in the alley. They all say the same thing, Lara Potter decapitated the mad bitch's arm. The Daily Prophet," here she held up the paper and Dumbledore's hopes plummeted as he read the article before Amelia continued, " has a damn good report. They also say she's a hero, and they have at least 20 people saying she is."

Amelia fixed him with a look that could've burnt a hole in granite, " I know, Dumbledore, that you believe a war should involve stunners and simply locking them up so they can be turned to the light, that maiming means you are automatically dark. The wizarding public doesn't believe that, not anymore. Lestrange is dead and Lara Potter isn't the golden girl you want her to be, so you're trying to kidnap her and make her see what she is doing is wrong. It's not going to happen. I swore a magically binding oath that the ministry will not interfere in her affairs."

Dumbledore was livid, " You did what ? ! That's further proof for you, the girl must be placed under arrest. What was she doing in the alley anyway ? She's a wild card and needs protection. Voldemort will be after her now, she's humiliated him, killed his followers - "

" Where's the evidence for that ? The death eaters died when their magic and lives were taken from them." Pondweed interrupted, ignoring the arrogant old man's glare. She'd seen more scary things in her brother's wardrobe. Undeterred, Pondweed carried on, " I'm aware of some of the order you have in my department. They shall be given an ultimatum later, what they do in their spare time isn't any of my concern. What I am concerned about is the fact that you tried to get them to kidnap a witch, breaking into the witch's home. Laws aren't your playthings Dumbledore."

Pondweed remembered something Dumbledore had said, " And as for what she was doing in the alley, why don't you ask everyone there what they were doing ? What people do in their own time is their own business, not yours."

Amelia nodded, her glare becoming worse, " I've also noted that Miss Potter has done more to disable the Dark lord than you have. It seems that she doesn't follow your gospel, must be a shame that the person you're trying to sway has a mind of her own."

Pondweed had to hide a smirk at her friend's words; Amelia Bones could be a right bitch when the occasion called for it and she could tell Dumbledore wasn't going to give up. The old wizard found himself full of a very angry and very indomitable Amelia Bones who took no shit from anyone, let alone Albus Dumbledore.

" I saw the way she attacked Lestrange, saw the way she decapitated her. There was an….anger in her eyes. I've seen that look before Amelia, the same look Tom Riddle had. "

Amelia Bones' own eyes were burning with rising fury out of defence of her friend. She remembered Tom Riddle, he'd been in her year at Hogwarts, but she hadn't liked him. She could tell he was evil and when she'd learnt from Lara about who Tom Riddle had become, her fears had been justified.

" Lara isn't Lord Voldemort. Yes," she added at the old man's start, " Lara told me who he was, how he'd achieved power. Something you neglected to inform the ministry, just because you seem to think that you and you alone can handle such information. You must really think twice before insulting our intelligence Dumbledore. It may be your last mistake. Let me tell you this, if I find out that you know more than we do, you will regret it. Leave Lara alone Dumbledore, that's a bit of advice, the only bit you'll get. Lara is probably the most powerful witch I know. You don't want her as an enemy, which she classes you as."

* * *

Lara leant against the wall of Potter manor's living room. She was tired, the battle had taken a lot out of her, meaning she would need to get in shape. She made a decision, she'd need her parents help but it was the best she could do. Maybe even Amelia…..The battle in Diagon Alley had angered her so much she'd gone straight to Voldemort's newest hideout and dealt another crippling blow. She only hoped he liked the change in decor.

Lara was so caught in her thoughts that she didn't notice her father and mother appearing, not until her mother wrapped her up in a hug. Lara found her arms full of a crying and shaking Lily Potter. The hug reminded her vividly of the times she'd never been hugged by anyone. The trauma of growing up came back to Lara but before she could do anything, her mother pulled away and starting screaming at her at the top of her voice.

" How could you do something so dangerous ? You nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw the latest edition of the Prophet, decapitating Lestrange, not that I'm not sorry to see the back of the mad bitch, before shooting her in the head !"

James chimed in, his voice was shaking. Whether from anger or nerves, Lara couldn't tell, " But not before destroying a good portion of the shops."

Lily's tears didn't go away, " We're going to make reparations to them, and you're going to negotiate."

Lara was puzzled, " I was going to do that anyway, with my own money."

James and Lily had known she was well off, but they'd been sure some of that money had been put aside for the horcrux hunt at first.

As the discussion turned to more pleasant subjects, Lara found herself hugged and kissed for getting rid of the most hated Death eater ever.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was watching as Madam Pomfrey tended to Severus Snape. His spy was in utter agony as the cruciatus curse had nearly killed him. As soon as Pomfrey left, Dumbledore and Snape spoke.

" The dark lord was in a more unbearable mood than he was when Potter attacked Malfoy manor. The death of Lestrange and the disastrous attack in Diagon Alley is making the dark lord reconsider his options. The attack on the alley was designed to remind the people the dark lord was still around. Potter's retaliation sent him in a rage that almost saw the surviving death eaters he has left join the followers who have died."

" What's Voldemort planning Severus ? Does he have any plans ?"

Snape groaned as he shifted on the mattress, causing his body to protest. He cursed the damage of his body, but he also cursed this old bastard for not giving him the luxury of sleep.

" If he does, he isn't telling. The dark lord's mood made rational thought simply vanish. Lestrange's death, coupled with the dark lords' regenerating injuries and the deaths of countless followers, is making him rethink his options. I heard him mutter about dementors, but he doesn't want to sacrifice them needlessly. But that might change. The dark lord's fury is starting to see the death eaters find places to be buried."

Dumbledore frowned at the mention of dementors, " Do you believe he'll set the dementors amok ?"

Snape closed his eyes, trying desperately hard not to fall asleep, but he was tired and fighting a losing battle. Besides he knew Dumbledore wont give up.

" At this point, I'd be very surprised if he doesn't, the Potter bitch humiliated him, injured him in public, and you know the Dark lord headmaster. Those who defy him usually end up dead. But Potter's a special case. Especially now she's killed the dark lord's familiar."

Dumbledore started, " She what ?"

Snape shook his head before grimacing in pain at the movement, " She appeared in front of the dark lord, then she froze him and then killed his snake. She set it alight. I and three others arrived just in time before she froze us and I saw a black spirit rising from the snakes body. When it was truly dead, she burnt that symbol of hers on the wall. The dark lord was incandescent with rage, but it was tempered with shock and fear."

Dumbledore's shock knew no bounds. The description of the spirit confirmed his belief that Voldemort's familiar was a horcrux. The information she'd given him when they'd met the first time stated that in America that the people there had removed the soul piece. Is that what she'd done in the time she'd been in this country ? Hunt down the horcruxes and destroy them.

The old wizard felt a chill run down his spine. He'd already had a long standing belief that Lord Voldemort had created horcruxes. That belief had been confirmed. The fact Lara knew and had known, obviously for a while, frightened him as he now saw that she didn't need him.

That thought didn't go down to well with the old wizard.

All that could be done was hope for the best.

* * *

Lara was painting her toenails when there was a knock on the door. Without looking up from her task, she called, " Come in."

Expecting Emma, her mother or father or even Dan, Lara was surprised when she looked into the face of the one person she wasn't expecting to see. Hermione looked uncertain as she stood on the threshold.

" Can I come in ?" the busy haired girl asked hesitantly.

Lara narrowed her eyes; every time the two witches spoke it usually ended up the same way. Hermione should realise by now how little Lara regarded her. Lara could talk to her parents, talk to Emma and Dan Granger, but she couldn't speak to their daughter without her sounding like a robot, spouting Dumbledore's pathetic and time wasting gospel.

But Lara decided to humour the other girl a little.

Lara nodded slightly.

Hermione came in, noting the books and instruments around the room, neatly slotted on nearby tables, but she held the urge to ask about them, knowing that the other girl would kick her out without hesitation. Hermione had watched Lara paint her toenails, feeling envious at the sight. Parvati and Lavender, her dorm mates, did that nearly every night and giggled to themselves about the various tidbits of gossip they came across.

Hermione and her dorm mates had never got along; they were outgoing, they had average grades and they didn't have Hermione's intellect.

Lara cleared her throat nosily and enjoyed watching Hermione jump slightly, " Did you come here for a reason or are you here to waste my time ?"

Hermione sighed, this was going to be harder than she'd first thought.

" I'm sorry, for everything. You saved my life and the life of my family, and I keep spouting the old man's gospel over and over again."

Hermione stood up and started to rant, " I've been thinking about what you've been telling me, you and our parents have kept telling me that Dumbledore doesn't and will never care about me. He left me and my parents to die, no one but you came."

Lara stood up and came over to Hermione, looking the other girl in the eyes. She concentrated her powers of mind reading and looked through Hermione's unprotected mind easily.

She was telling the truth. But then again Lara had expected her to, she'd been reading the girls' mind for a while now and she'd known that there was no way she could communicate with Dumbledore. Hermione had been tolerated, like the youngest Weasleys, by the order, so she hadn't been given a means or a method to contact them or the old fart.

Lara took the girl by her hand and led her to the bed. As she sat down, Lara held out one of her nail varnish out to her. Hermione took it in surprise, but then Lara got back to what she'd been doing, ignoring Hermione.

Hermione looked at the bottle curiously, wondering what Lara expected her to do, before she realised that this conversation would be a little bit one sided if she didn't bother participating in Lara's activity.

Hermione slowly unscrewed the bottle and did the same thing.

Lara watched as Hermione did her nails, she knew it was a tacky way to start a relationship. They wouldn't be friends, but Lara knew better than to make snap decisions.

Lara started the conversation, trying to get an idea of why the change of heart had come about.

" I know you and my parents and yours have had words, but I want to know the change of heart."

Hermione was concentrating still so she didn't look up.

" I didn't want to let go of my philosophy. Authority figures are meant to be people that look out for others and make them feel safe. That's what I believe. But since the order met you that belief has taken a battering. I didn't want to lose it."

" But you should've been objective," Lara pointed out.

Hermione sighed, " I know. But I didn't want to let go of something that's been a guiding light of mine."

" Dumbledore, a guiding light ?" Lara chuckled darkly, " Never going to happen. He might look the part, but he'll never be anything more than a garishly dressed man with an obsessive need to control other people and ignore the consequences."

She looked into Hermione's eyes, trying to gauge her reaction. Hermione seemed more accepting of the idea of Dumbledore as a meddler than she had in the past.

Hermione looked back at her brightly painted toenails and blew on them slightly, " Do you think my parents will forgive me ?"

Lara looked down, this was territory she didn't want to be in.

" I don't know. I know you and Emma had words, ending with your mother running off and sobbing her heart out. Their wonderful people, your parents. Why choose a stranger over them ?"

Hermione's eyes watered, but she didn't answer the question. She couldn't, her answers would be inadequate and, judging from Lady Saint's look, Lara knew it as well.

* * *

Lord Voldemort was pacing around the room of his new headquarters. The wall that held the white stickwoman filled him with terror every time he looked at it. The more he paced up and down, the more glimpses of it he actually got. But he couldn't stop pacing. If he stopped, his eyes would catch the scorch mark on the floor and wall, the charred blood on the floor, the stickwoman painted on the wall. All reminding him about his failure to clean it all up from his sight.

This couldn't go on. The death eaters were terrified, only his supreme ability to induce fear stopped the scum from actually running off. But he knew it wouldn't and could never last forever. Lara Potter's visage filled his mind, making him tremble in terror and rage.

The bitch had humiliated him in front of the public, making him lose a lot of the terror that the magical world had held him in for decades. She'd started killing his followers, including their families. Worse, the ministry was backing her up. Voldemort was tempted to go to Bones' manor and kill Amelia Bones in her sleep for this, but fear held him back.

Fear of the fact his horcruxes were gone.

Voldemort had checked on the locations of the accessible horcruxes, only to find nothing. The wards around many of the sites had been collapsed and the soul fragments removed. Nagini's death terrified him even more, especially since he'd been held by the Potter bitch's power.

He knew who she was now.

Lady Saint, muggle thief and criminal. Or so he'd thought. Lara Potter made him realise that just because something presented a certain image, didn't mean it was the right image. That made him ashamed and angry at himself; Tom Riddle had presented the image of a polite, charming, handsome boy at school, all the time hiding a sadist and murderous streak that would've fooled everyone but Dumbledore.

Dumbledore…the man no longer had any meaning to him anymore. Dumbledore he could anticipate, Lara Potter no. she had knowledge of his horcruxes, his powers. She had plans to kill him. Dumbledore would want to control things from behind the scenes.

That was when it occurred to him to remove, finally, one of his most persistent enemies.

He would plan it in the morning, when the trembles had subsided. For now all he could do was sleep in another room, away from the signs of Lady Saint's presence.

It still felt as if she was here, and that was scary.


	17. Chapter 17 The Unexpected Ally

**The Unexpected Ally.**

Lord Voldemort found that his plan for liquidating Dumbledore and his band of followers was delayed, this was due to the manors belonging to some of his supporters being destroyed. The surviving relatives also discovered the massive amounts of money taken from the bank vaults. A note left in each one spoke of the same thing.

The message read;

" I do not tolerate failure of any kind in my cause. Lord Voldemort."

The lack of funds to support them, coupled with the fact many of them were under investigation from the Ministry, something they truly didn't need. Fudge would never have done that, even under pressure to do so by the light side of the wizengamot, but Amelia Bones was a different kind of animal. She was relentless, she brought everything up in courts and made sure those families connections were revealed. It didn't take long before their association with the dark lord made them see that they'd gambled everything they had away.

The magical world didn't realise it but this was all part of Lady Saint's plan to topple a good portion of magical Britain.

Albus Dumbledore growled in mounting fury as he read through the reports from the surveillance of Potter manor, it didn't say anything apart from the fact the wards had been reinforced, they recorded Lara Potter out on her runs. The reports went on to say that in spite of numerous attempts to grab the girl, they'd fall flat on their faces or hit a magical shield.

Dumbledore rubbed his temples, trying desperately to remain calm and composed, but this girl was giving him more headaches than he'd expected. When he'd first found out that Harry Potter, the moron who lived, wasn't the chosen child of the prophecy, he'd been in a rage. Lucky for him and the nearby spectators of the tournament Dumbledore had learnt accumbency, otherwise the image he'd worked so hard to perfect would be meaningless.

Albus reached for his lemon drops and popped one in his mouth, savouring the taste and equally savouring the calming drought it held inside.

With the calming drought running through his body Dumbledore thought out his plans, and found that he'd overestimated and underestimated Lara Potter.

With Harry Dumbledore had known exactly what to expect, the Potters at the time had been more than generous in allowing Dumbledore to spend time with the boy, even if the old man was repulsed by the boy and his arrogance. Those times allowed the old wizard the time to place the blocks on Harry's magic, not that he had much to use but Dumbledore had expected the boy to grow with magical power.

Unfortunately, it hadn't happened. The boy when he attended Hogwarts was barely able to perform many feats of magic, regardless of what they were. Dumbledore and the whole magical world had ignored all this, confident that their regard for the boy, overwhelming as it was, would boost his confidence, but there were times Dumbledore actually wondered whether or not his blocks might have something to do with the core problems in Harry.

When Dumbledore had learnt that it wasn't Harry that defeated Voldemort the first time round, Dumbledore had been speechless, not just from rage at having wasted precious years on the boy, on the wrong child, but also from elation. He'd thought, started to believe that maybe the other Potter child had been responsible. To have that thought, minute as it had been back then, confirmed by Voldemort of all people, had sent Dumbledore into a happy dance that lasted hours. The prophecy was real !

There was only one small problem, followed by some very good questions, where was Lara Potter ? Did she have ties to the magical world or not ? Would she accept Dumbledore and his guidance ? Would she forgive the Potters for their mistakes ?

The answers to those questions, alas, hadn't filled Dumbledore with more elation. In truth, he hadn't really expected the little bitch to forgive the Potters. Dumbledore himself would never forgive his own father for his crimes, let alone leaving his mother in the lurch like that.

The Potters had been prepared to abandon her, they'd neglected and borderline abused her, was it any reason that she'd violently repelled them from her home ?

Ah yes, the break in, a point of contention between himself and Lara. And Amelia Bones, who'd charged him with that, ignoring his statement that it had been for the Greater good.

But Dumbledore was still hopeful that the girl would see sense and he could get his master plan back on track.

Fawkes, the phoenix, watched from his perch as his master made his plans, and felt torn. The phoenix hadn't been bonded with this old fool long before he interfered with the bond and brought the phoenix under control, but the techniques had been shoddily performed and now Fawkes was virtually free. Dumbledore's vain complacency meant that he believed the spells and rituals he'd performed back in 1932 would last forever, but it didn't.

The spells had started to wear off over time, and Fawkes had known that deep down. As he worked to break Dumbledore's control and be free, he'd watched in horror as Dumbledore manipulated, discarded, killed people needlessly, even using the phoenix as an unwilling accomplice.

But now, with Dumbledore's notice shifted to Lara Potter, Fawkes had time to break the last thread between them. He was planning on finally breaking the familiar bond tonight.

For the time being, he watched and waited.

Fawkes had watched as Dumbledore had bestowed himself towards Harry Potter, placed the blocks on the boy's core. Fawkes himself had come close to the boy and he sensed that the horcrux, which Dumbledore believed was inside the boy, didn't exist. In fact, there wasn't any sign it was actually there. There was no dark magic of any kind and Fawkes could sense that. But Dumbledore wouldn't have listened to the phoenix, even if Fawkes had a burning day, something that Dumbledore had never truly noticed.

The old wizard's obsession with Lara Potter seemed to increase every minute and Fawkes was starting to worry for the girl. Dumbledore was a very dangerous man, he didn't like playing games and soon his schemes for kidnapping the girl might actually happen. Once that happened Dumbledore would need to work fast in order to subdue her, but if it was true, and Fawkes was willing to bet it was, the girl could neutralise magic and deal with the offending attackers.

The ability Lara had that could dampen magic interested and frightened the phoenix, phoenixes and other magical creatures, including goblins and house elves, had significantly more magic in their forms than humans did, and as a result their bodies needed magic in order to function properly. Without it, they may fall ill and die. Fawkes had no idea, and frankly he didn't want to run the risk of antagonising the girl.

Fawkes had been surprised, although he truly shouldn't have been, that Dumbledore hadn't made him go and get the girl; wizards were insular and didn't really think much in the first place, and Dumbledore was no exception. That was the trouble with the magical world, their lack of forward thinking had caused them so many problems, but they didn't see the actual need to solve these problems.

Fawkes could see that Lara Potter had no real intention of helping the magical world, more the opposite in fact. The phoenix had been surprised by the thought he'd had when he discovered this one minor fact.

He didn't care.

The magical world could do with a dose of common sense, but Fawkes was doubtful it would actually come to pass. Whilst everyone else moved on, the British magical world stayed still, and it's citizens wouldn't recognise the future if it came up to them and slap their faces.

Lara was listening to music on a magically adapted iPod when the phoenix flamed into the living room lounge of the manor. The Potters and Grangers were reading, loitering and doing zilch, but when the phoenix flamed inside the room they reacted as expected. Lily and Emma screamed, Dan jumped, spilling his scotch as he did, James whipped out his wand and Lara jumped, her daggers appearing in her hands as she prepared herself to do battle.

Lily was gasping, a hand on her chest, " It's Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix familiar."

James also recognised the magnificent bird and put his wand down, no wizard could harm a phoenix.

" What's he doing here ?" he asked. Looking closer he noticed the book clasped in Fawkes talons. " What's he carrying ?"

The phoenix flew over to Lara, dropping the book onto the couch beside her when he glided smoothly over to an ornament and simply relaxed. Lara looked over at the book, before looking at the phoenix. The bird answered her unspoken question.

Lara picked up the heavy book, using her magic to scan it and it's contents for any sign of magic; Lara knew that many witches and wizards that wrote secret stuff into books usually placed charms and curses on them to protect their contents.

Lara found nothing, but that didn't surprise her. She was aware Dumbledore had a phoenix familiar, she'd seen him in fact once before, when she'd been growing up in the manor, but she didn't understand why he'd give her a book.

Sitting down and getting comfortable, she propped the book open and started to read. The others in the room noticed her body language, and saw that she'd been curious but now she seemed borderline hostile.

James couldn't stand the tension anymore, " What's the book and what's wrong ?"

Lara looked up briefly before looking back at the passage, " It's Dumbledore's journal. This book proves so much about the old man. All his crimes, all his schemes, all his manipulations…they're all here. All written down for posterity."

Lily crinkled her nose, " Why should he write it all down ?"

" He's an egotistical bastard, that's why."

Lara got back to reading, ignoring them as they sat down. She looked back at them after 14 minutes of reading the book, they were so impatient !

Lara looked at her mother pointedly, " Do you remember when Severus Snape called you a mud blood ?"

Lily jumped, the question was so unexpected that she had to run it through her mind again just as Hermione informed her parents what the word, that hated disgusting word meant, " Yeah, why ?"

Lara indicated the book, " This passage I'm reading, it says basically that Dumbledore staged it with mild compulsion charms. The whole point was to create a scenario where Sevvie boy would break his already tenuous friendship with you and push him to the death eaters, and you to him," she gestured to her stunned father.

" What ?" Lily whispered; Hermione got the impression that Lily had taken the time as gospel but hadn't realised that there was so much more to the whole thing.

Lara nodded, Hermione wondered if it was sympathetic or not, " Yes, it wasn't the only thing he did. He made sure that certain students joined Voldemort either by compulsion charms or by mild manipulation."

" Why would he do that ?"

" It doesn't say," Lara said disappointedly.

Emma leant forward, she knew that her daughter had idolised this man, but felt Hermione could see that no matter the person they all had ulterior motives.

" What else is there ?"

Lara flipped through the journal before stopping on a passage, " Listen to this, **visited the Potters today, Lily was still the same simpering mud blood whore and James was still the child. Harry is certainly his father's son, in more ways than one. I shall have to beat that out of him. **

**I managed to place the core blocks on him, constricting his magic to a normal flow of power. I can't wait for my master plan to reach its end. For more than 60 years I've been trying to gain more and more power, but I now have, at last, the means to become better than that charlatan Merlin, pumph, what a fool. **

**The plan I have for the final prophesised battle is this, my genius sometimes even overwhelms me, the blocks on Harry's magic, coupled with the horcrux in his scar, along with mild compulsion charms of course. Can't have my weapon thinking for himself can I ?**

**The blocks would twist and clench the horcrux, which would be aided by Severus Snape, whom I plan on teaching the foolish brat occlumency in order to deepen the connection and the power flow to the horcrux, which needs magic in order to survive. When Voldemort throws the killing curse at the boy, the resulting explosion will destroy the last Potter heir and the last Slytherin heir. Then, I shall use the will I had the boy sign under a compulsion charm, signing the Potter fortune over to myself. **

**What shall I do with Lily and James ?**

**Maybe make Lily my….personal slave and James can watch what a real man can do with a woman. **

**Damn it ! My plan has failed !**

**Harry isn't the boy who lived, but his sister ! Worse, the Potters were planning on kicking her out of the family anyway, but the little bitch vanished before they could actually do it. **

**I have no way of tracking her, I know nothing about her so if she had a hobby hidden from her parents she'd have hidden it away from everyone in the world. **

**In truth, I had often wondered whether or not Harry had ever been marked by Voldemort. Even though the blocks weren't that restrictive and allowed the barest minimum of magic the boy should've grown in power as he got older but he didn't. **

**It makes sense, actually, now I come to think about it. Lara Potter always seemed more knowledgeable than her twin, and I did rush things, proclaiming the little brat the chosen one like that. **

**Severus found her, but the fool didn't bother to persuade her to come with him, back to me where I was preparing to make her accept me as a mentor and I could begin my plan again. Luckily, he tore some of her hairs out of her scalp so we could track her. **

**When we got to the manor it didn't go as planned, the little tart has already had a magical education at another school, she doesn't trust either myself or her parents. **

**The Potters have left the Order ! Of all the asinine things those pathetic people had to do they had to leave ! I needed the Potters, their influence and their manor as my headquarters. Now they've left, all because they felt sentimental for their daughter !**

**Stupid people, I needed them for bringing the little slut to my way of thinking. How can I do that if they leave the Order ?**

**The good news is their equally stupid friends are still in my pocket, Lupin and Black have never gotten along with Lara Potter but they are absolutely useless for roping the girl in. **

**The fact Lara Potter is a criminal in the muggle world is useless, the Ministry doesn't give a flying shit about muggle criminals, especially ones that are important to the muggles. **

**I can't even take advantage of her identity, I tried to tell Cornelius not so long ago, and I almost choked to death. How did she do this ?**

**Voldemort struck Diagon Alley today, and Lara Potter was there. The few Order members that were there informed us at the meeting that she killed all the death eaters she came across with muggle weapons. She killed them without giving them a chance for redemption.**

" Redemption ? Who in their right mind would try to redeem a bunch of fanatics ?" Lara snorted before carrying on.

**Voldemort himself killed Peter Pettigrew before the little traitor could blab about his secrets. It was an enlightening fight, Lara put up that wretched magical dampening field and stopped Voldemort from casting any curses. That didn't stop her. She wounded Voldemort and later mutilated him with what Granger, another mud blood know it all, said was a meat grinder. How muggles can create such things is beyond my comprehension. **

**Severus has informed me that Voldemort is badly injured, but he is far from finished. Bellatrix Lestrange, probably one of his most trusted death eaters, is now in acting command of Voldemort's organisation. I think he'll give her instructions and she'll follow them to the letter, but that doesn't mean she wont take the initiative. Snape says that since he'll be seriously busy with creating potions for Voldemort to actually get any information about Lestrange's plans. **

Lara left out the ministry's attempt to force her to go to Hogwarts, she didn't see her parents or the Grangers not guessing what the journal said on the subject. But there was one little thing that caught her attention.

She read it out.

**My research into the Philosopher's stone -** Lara looked up at Hermione's gasp, but filed it away. She would read this passage before she actually discussed what they'd found out, **has yielded more than enough to allow me to recreate a more refined version of the elixir of life. I hope that the new formula will allow me to continue my work for the Greater good of the magical world, I am delighted that the life's work of the Flamels' will continue to live on. It's a genuine pity that I had to kill them in order to gain their research. **

Lara looked at the others, " Well we certainly underestimated Dumbledore." she couldn't think of anything else to say.

Hermione had a look of being told that what she'd thought she'd known was a lie, to actually know what Dumbledore really thought of her was painful.

" He thought I was a know it all. He thought of me as that." she covered her face with her hands. Muffled sounds told them that the girl was crying.

Emma wrapped her arms around her sobbing daughter, the fact that the headmaster whom she and her husband had entrusted their daughter's education and safety too actually thought of the muggle born students like that frightened her.

She looked at Lara questioningly.

" What do we do ?"

Lara was surprised about Emma's trust in her, but she held back her surprise with careful effort.

" I'm more worried about this elixir of life, an immortal Dumbledore is too terrible to contemplate."

Dan looked bemused, " What is the Philosopher's stone anyway ?"

Lara looked towards Hermione, " Ask your daughter. I heard her gasp at the mention of it. She knows I think."

Hermione uncovered her face, exposing her red rimmed eyes to the whole room, " It…it was in my first year. Me, Harry and Ron were investigating, or rather I was," she decided to be totally honest with everyone, " mentions of Nicholas Flamel."

Hermione gave them a brief summary of that year, of Harry almost falling from his broom during the first Quidditch match of the year, how they'd learnt the first clues from Hagrid of all people. Lara made a mental note to never speak a word to Hagrid, from the sounds of it he was definitely the worst secret keeper in the world, and would likely make a terrible spy. He'd betray himself with no trouble.

Hermione told them about the stone, " We found out what it did and how Voldemort was trying to steal it. We thought that Snape was after it, but it turned out to be the defence teacher for that year."

Lara made another note, that if she ever gave birth to any children, she wouldn't let them go within 1 millimetre to Hogwarts.

Lara had never truly felt Hogwarts was the perfect school, the fact they seemed to promote blood supremacy there and stereotypes in the magical world was far from comforting. Magical kind frightened Lara, even though she wouldn't admit it. It was the blood purity shit that was one of the many reasons Lara despised Hogwarts, and the British magical world. She was heartily sick of the mindlessness of the philosophy.

Lara looked back into Hermione's eyes, a thought occurred to her.

" Hermione, tell us about your time at Hogwarts. Something tells me that there's more to the so called adventures you and my brother have had."

Hermione was reluctant to discuss it, but she didn't really have much choice. She'd never really wanted to leave Hogwarts, which she was sure her parents would actually do if they ever found out what she actually did do at the place.

For an hour, Hermione explained about her life at Hogwarts, not just the mundane school life she'd lived, the classes, the grades, the people she met year upon year after year.

She talked about the chamber of secrets, and life she'd had to live through at a time when muggle borns, people like her, people who shared her heritage, were being attacked and persecuted more than ever, with the fear of a monster lurking in the shadows of a place they'd thought, always thought, was safe.

Hermione described, in detail, what it felt like to be petrified, how she still recalled the yellow eyes in Penelope Clearwater's mirror, how she felt like she was being turned to stone, how her limbs felt heavy and how she fell into a shadowy darkness.

Dan and Emma had to hold themselves, Dan's face was contorted with fury. When he and his wife had agreed to let Hermione go to Hogwarts, they'd assumed that the professor would look after her and keep her safe. She'd failed to do that. Now Hermione's future was in question.

The third year, Hermione told them how Bellatrix Lestrange had escaped Azkaban, but she didn't go within three feet of Hogwarts. But that didn't mean to say that year had been simple, the dementors had come had brought tension in the school up so much that even going outside for a breath of fresh air wasn't even allowed. Dan and Emma were told what dementor's were, and that made their resolve to ensure Hermione didn't go anywhere near that school again hardened in their chests.

It was when they got to the worst year yet that Lara was starting to see a pattern. It had been there, small and blatantly insignificant that it was hardly noticeable. But when she heard how a death eater had gotten her brother, who from what she'd heard over the years, who was a terrible wizard, into the Triwizard tournament of all things.

Hermione described the tournament for her parents sake, they learnt how the tournament was full of dangerous risks, how many people had lost their lives. When they heard from Hermione, who had first hand experience, of how mediocre the hero of the wizarding world truly was, they wondered how he'd survived so far.

They heard about the dragon, who almost scorched Harry, who was extremely lucky to survive the encounter, but they were furious when they heard that the headmaster took their daughter and made her a hostage at the bottom of a dangerous lake.

Did he truly not give a damn about the safety of his students ?

From where the Granger's stood it was clear he didn't care, a thought now shared by the Potters and Lara.

By the time Hermione got to the third task, the task that saw Lord Voldemort returned to power, how Harry had died, the Grangers had made their decision to make sure Hermione never returned to that school ever again.

Hermione described, in detail as always, how they couldn't actually see what was happening in that maze, how terrifying it had been to witness Voldemort return. She said that Voldemort had always seemed like the bogeyman, a spectre that was there but couldn't be seen.

James cut in at that description, the pain of how he'd betrayed his own daughter was still like a stake through the Potter family head's heart.

" I think bogeyman isn't the right word Hermione, me and my wife have actually come this close," he held up his hand with his thumb and forefinger touching each other, " to being killed by Voldemort in the past. Remember that others haven't been as lucky as us."

Hermione was chastised when Lara cut in, an unreadable expression on her face, " Hermione, you said that the stone had been moved to Hogwarts after an attack on Gringotts ?"

" Yes."

Lara looked pointedly around the room, " Doesn't anyone see it ? The Goblins' defences are stronger than people think, believe me I know."

James was starting to understand what was going through his daughter's mind, at least he thought he did.

" You think Dumbledore set up that attack ?"

Lara flicked through the journal and found a reference, " Listen to this, the Gringotts' attack went well. Fawkes was able to flash me into the bank and then out. Goblins seem as ineffective of keeping Phoenixes out of the bank as much as wizards are of the ministry."

Lily spoke for the first time. She'd been listening to the manipulations of Dumbledore from the lips of the person he was thinking of sacrificing. Simpering mud blood whore, she was going to make him pay for that if it was the last thing she actually did.

" That makes sense of how he did it, phoenixes can go places other magicals cannot."

Lara was still looking through the journal, " It says here that Dumbledore also placed Fawkes through multiple rituals and spells to place him under more control, but from the way he's given me the journal and how I can now hear his voice in my mind, he's now my familiar."

That led to bedlam, and Lara smiled. It was so fun, surprising these people.


	18. Chapter 18 Lady Saint's surprise

I received a review about Dobby the house elf. I'm sorry to say that Dobby will play no part in this story. Why should he ? Dobby has no loyalty to Lady Saint, Lara Potter, because Harry Potter didn't set him free. Dobby doesn't owe the Potters anything. If you want to read about Dobby then please stop reading my story.

Also, I'm going to leave a " **1** " next to one of the paragraphs. That means for you people to contribute something to my story and give me some ideas.

As usual review are appreciated.

**Lady Saint's surprise. **

" What ? How in Merlin's name can Fawkes be your familiar ?" Lily shouted.

Lara sent her a look, and Lily felt as if her blood had froze in her veins. She knew that although she and her husband had made great progress in making a relationship with Lara, she knew that the contempt and antipathy she felt for her parents was still there.

Lara's voice was as cold as her look, " He isn't, stupid. Something you'd know if you'd let me continue."

" Fawkes' bond to Dumbledore is weak, it's weak because of the fact the old fool didn't bother with making the full bond. A bond in blood. Fawkes," she called out to the still perched phoenix, " come to me now."

The phoenix glided over to the still seated girl, who removed a dagger from her inner holster. Lara pricked her finger, just as Fawkes used his beak to pierce his leg. Gently, smoothly, Lara and Fawkes touched their pricked finger and leg.

There was a golden light as the bond was made.

The glow grew brighter and brighter, enveloping the two before it subsided.

Lara smiled towards the phoenix, her phoenix.

_Can you hear me in your mind, Lara ? _

Lara's smile encompassed her entire face.

_Yes, yes I can hear you. How does it feel, being properly bonded ?_

The phoenix seemed to shrug, and Lara felt a surge of happiness through the bond. Judging from that happiness, she could properly make an educated guess.

_It feels wonderful. You have no idea how boring it was, listening constantly to Dumbledore speak about his plans for the " greater good" future he was going to build. I love being free, thank you. _

Lara frowned.

_You do know that I'm a thief, that I don't work with the law ?_

The phoenix seemed to roll his eyes, _Do you think I care ? Being with you will probably be a joy. Besides, a bit of dishonesty never did anyone any harm._

_But you're a phoenix. I thought your kind didn't stand for that sort of thing ?_

Fawkes did his best to explain, _There is a fine line between good and evil, I wouldn't bond myself to you if I sensed you were evil. I sense you are a good person, nothing like Dumbledore. That man believes that he and he alone knows what is best for everyone, regardless of what they think. In his quest for personal recognition Dumbledore has committed many monstrous crimes, blaming them on others. That's how he operates, the journal I gave you gives the evidence for his crimes. He meets someone whom doesn't share his values, and then believes them to be dark. He sets them up and has them shipped to Azkaban, or he merely kills them. _

Lara sighed, deciding to confess, _I sometimes con other criminals, people I believe to be corrupt, heartless scum bags. _

Fawkes tried to put her at ease, _Ah, but do you jump to conclusions and murder families for the name of the" greater good ?" No, you don't, you help people by ensuring those " scum bags " as you call them cannot harm others. _

_Not always. I sometimes have to kill people. _

_Only when you have to. Dumbledore doesn't kill people, he gets others to do the dirty work for him, sometimes even placing them under a compulsion charm, or even the imperius curse. _

Lara got down to business, _Why did you want to bond with me ? _

Fawkes gave her the whole story, as his mistress he had no choice, _To gain my freedom, to break away from the slavery Dumbledore put me under. When we bonded I sensed a lot from you, your dangerous life, you desire for independence. How you became independent. I have no problem helping in your crimes Lara, I've helped Dumbledore with millions of crimes, making me an accomplice, but I sense you will be different. You don't violate other people Dumbledore does, you take what you need and hand over the items you steal to those in need. _

_Not always. _

_But you do, _Fawkes argued, _Dumbledore spots someone, and then bleeds them dry. _

Lara sighed, conceding to Fawkes' argument, but she was still unsure about what the phoenix could do for her even though he'd told her what he could do.

_Fawkes, I've heard about what you can do for me. But I don't understand why you'd want to join me. _

Fawkes seemed to sigh, wondering how he could get the message across.

_Dumbledore is a cruel man, he thinks only about himself and the power he hopes to possess. If Voldemort kills you, Dumbledore will kill you and reveal evidence that states that the public contempt you've held for him was a façade, an act. The idea is that if he does that then the magical world will think that you've deceived them, that Dumbledore and you played an act. _

Lara was horrified at the scheme, it was well thought out.

_If Dumbledore pulls that off,_ she told the phoenix, _then he could go down as the greatest wizard in the world. _

_Since Merlin,_ the phoenix agreed grimly. _With my help then you can fight him and reinforce your disdain and hatred for the old man. _

Lara was starting to see why the phoenix had bonded with her,

_So you want the magical world to see just how evil Dumbledore truly is, reveal that's in his journal, revealing the assorted crimes he's committed over the years. Including what he's done to you,_ she added to Fawkes, nodding in the phoenixes' direction.

_Indeed, that journal and the little package will reveal other crimes._

Lara frowned, _what package ?_

Fawkes took it out of the journal, and Lara felt a bit of shame for not even noticing it. As a criminal it was Lara's responsibility to notice everything in sight, even packages concealed in a book. It galled the criminal to the core that Dumbledore had hidden something so precious.

Lara took it, and opened it. A purple stone, resembling a crystal or a diamond, dropped out. Hermione recognised it at once, " The philosopher's stone. Dumbledore said it had been destroyed."

_Dumbledore didn't destroy it Lara, he stole it. He killed the Flamels, forcing me to flame him over there and kill them. I hate being a personal assassin. _Fawkes bowed his head in sadness.

Lara picked up the stone, _What is it ?_

_That stone is an alchemist's dream come true, it produces an elixir of life, granting the drinker immortality. The only flaw is that the drinker has to ingest it at regular intervals. If they don't, they start to age and then, they die. The other property is to transmute any other mineral into gold. _Fawkes explained.

Alchemy, Lara had never studied the art, but she knew enough about it to know that it wasn't what she wanted. Lara wanted to be rich, live a good life and done to worthy causes. She didn't want to live forever.

Lady Saint looked towards the phoenix, having another private conversation with him.

_I don't want to live forever. _

Fawkes was quick to reply, _And you wont, my magic will support you. But you wont live forever, nor will I ever try. That's another difference between you and Dumbledore; that man wants to live forever but you don't. You accept the fact that you have a human lifespan, Dumbledore arrogantly assumes that the laws of nature can be scrapped. It doesn't. _

Emma and Dan were watching this and were baffled.

" They're talking to them over a familiar bond."

They looked at Hermione, who was watching this with fascination. She caught their looks of puzzlement.

" They're bonded, and that means they can share each others thoughts and feelings, even talk to one another. I've never seen it but I've read about it."

Dan was looking at the phoenix, never had he seen a more majestic bird in his life. Even an eagle put the phoenix to shame.

" I wonder what they're talking about."

Lara answered that question, " I was asking him about what he can do for me, whether or not being bonded to him will prolong my life."

Lily pounced on Lara with questions, " Did you find out why he's bonded to you ? He's supposed to be Dumbledore's familiar."

Lara's face became grim, " Yes, it seems Dumbledore couldn't stop meddling there as well. Fawkes became bonded to Dumbledore in the 30s, and Dumbledore interfered with it. He found rituals and spells to keep Fawkes under his control, especially since Fawkes was forced to do things that his kind aren't meant to do."

" Like what ?" James asked curiously, with a hint of trepidation. Phoenixes were the mascot of the light side, the symbol of good over evil. Just the news the Dumbledore had enchanted his own phoenix filled Potter senior with horror, it shattered the final hope that Albus Dumbledore was indeed a good and noble man.

No light wizard would even conceive of such a deed, if Dumbledore did then what else would he do ?

Lara's uneasiness answered that question more than her cryptic remark did, " I'll answer that question tomorrow. I'm taking Dumbledore's journal and I'm going to have Amelia investigate and print some of the softcore stuff in the Prophet. " **1" "**

Hermione didn't like the sound of the word " softcore."

" Softcore, then what's hardcore ?"

Lara's smirk brought them up. " I'm saving that for a rainy day."

A/N - Please review and leave some ideas for " hardcore " - anything, as long as it's realistic. Ok ? Great, excellent. Until next time.


	19. Chapter 19 Getting Back to Basics

**Again, please leave me ideas from last chapters request for " hardcore " Dumbledore crimes. The best ideas will be featured on my next few chapters. **

**Getting back to basics. **

Lara lovingly ran her fingers over the black bodysuit she always wore on a caper. It was a lightweight material, strong, flexible, tight and incredibly comfortable. It was also woven with Acromatula silk for extra protection.

As she got changed, she thought back on the last time she'd worn it, it had been when she'd been in Paris and stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre gallery.

_5 months. 5 months I've been out of practice, doing what I do best. A lifetime…._Lara thought as she fixed the back of the suit. It was a miracle she stayed in shape, unlike some, and got fat. If she didn't take excellent care of herself then she'd be in real trouble.

Not an option.

When she fixed her gloves and boots, she got her backpack ready, checked the necessary supplies were inside. It wasn't necessary to go with a grappling hook, not with Fawkes taking her, but you never knew.

One of Lara's beliefs was that if you needed it, and didn't have it, then you sung a different tune.

Lady Saint checked her guns and made sure her beloved daggers were prepared for action at a moment's notice.

Lily and James with the Grangers were waiting for Lara in the lounge.

" Again, please tell us why she's doing this ?" Emma asked, she'd become quite fond of Lara, finding her enjoyable company, especially since she was fantastic at debates.

Lily was just as nervous as Emma, if not more so.

" She says that Fawkes knows that Dumbledore has other journals, detailing more horrific crimes over the years. Fawkes is going to be taking her to Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts."

Hermione was the pragmatist, " What if Fawkes is still working for Dumbledore, and this was an elaborate trap ?"

That brought everyone up, what if Hermione was right ? What if Dumbledore had forced Fawkes to bring the journal here to peak Lara's interest and lead her into a trap ?

Fawkes tried to reassure them, even though he couldn't blame them for having suspicions, soothing them with a haunting, but uplifting, melody. But that didn't get rid of the thought.

" Thanks for being concerned about me, Hermione, but Fawkes is genuinely on my side. He couldn't fake making that bond. Besides, I felt the connection between him and Dumbledore snap. It was like a piece of elastic being snapped. "

Zipping up her jacket, Lara announced, " Right, I'll be off. Don't worry. I'll be okay."

Summoning Fawkes, she flamed out the Potter's living room.

Lara and Fawkes reappeared in Dumbledore's office. The phoenix told her that Dumbledore was a creature of habit, he never went to bed before 9 o clock, drinking hot chocolate with a good does of fire whiskey. He would be out like a light.

Lara cast the dampening field around the room and also immobilised the portraits so then Dumbledore wouldn't be informed she was there with Fawkes.

_Where are they ?_ she asked Fawkes.

_In the desk, the draws are unlocked. Dumbledore doesn't believe that anyone can get in here so he sees no point._ the phoenix replied.

Lady Saint had a hand on handle of her gun as she cautiously walked over to the desk keeping an eye out for any traps, ears and eyes and all senses ready. She was in the Lion's den and she wasn't going to take a chance.

She opened the lowest drawer, and looked inside. The draw contained another journal and a few memories in vials. She ran them in a mini pensieve and found them genuine as she grimly watched some of the atrocities the old man had performed in the name of his so called greater good.

Flipping through the journal also confirmed it's authenticity.

Lady Saint looked back up at her phoenix, damn that would take a long time to get used to, _Is there anything else ?_

_Yes, there's a memory over here. _

The phoenix flew gracefully down to the a bookshelf and, opening a hidden compartment, revealed a massive store of evidence Lara would enjoy using, once she got a hold on her breathing.

" Fuck…me." she whispered in astonishment at what she was seeing. Then a smile appeared on her face, it wasn't a nice smile. Oh, she would enjoy this.

Inside the compartment was a collection of photographs and Lara almost felt sick just watching them.

Wait till Amelia and them magical world saw them

Lily was pacing up and down the room when Fawkes flamed in with Lara. The expression on her face made Lily see that the girl was both stunned by what she'd found but she was also enjoying what was she'd found.

Lara took something from her backpack and handed it to Lily. She took it and screamed. She dropped it and showed what it was.

It was a picture of a boy, wearing a Hogwarts uniform, or what was left of one. He was wearing nothing except the outer robe and nothing else, not even a sock. The boy was crying.

Hermione screamed, before choking out a name, " Colin….Colin Creevey."

" Who ?" Lara asked.

Hermione explained, " Colin Creevey, he's a year below me at Hogwarts. He followed Harry everywhere, much to Harry's delight, taking pictures and what not. But I never thought…." Hermione stopped, unable to speak, the horror she was seeing rendering her silent.

" Never thought for one moment that Albus Dumbledore was a paedophile ? Wait till you see another picture." Lara said grimly, taking out another picture. This time Emma screamed in horror and cried her eyes out. Hermione shook her head, mouthing the word " No ".

Dan clenched his fists in rage, none of the Potters could blame him for his silent and burning outrage.

This time, a girl was in the picture, looking heartbroken and distraught, even in the picture it was more than obvious that the girl had lost hope and couldn't believe what was happening to her, she was wearing nothing, like Colin, not even a pair of panties. Her hair was long, bushy, and she was brown eyed. Her identity was unmistakeable.

It was Hermione Granger.

Lara dug into her backpack and took out a small diary, " This contains details of his conquests. He summons a student, a muggle born to his office, seals the place, then casts a spell to remove your clothes. He then rapes you, force feeding you potions to stop you from getting pregnant if you're unlucky enough to be a girl. He also has a sick fantasy he lives out, he likes regressing the poor kid till you're a few years younger than you are now. It doesn't last long, only a few minutes. He rapes you again and enjoys hearing you cry." Lara said quietly, an inner rage burning in her chest.

She'd seen this sort of thing before, a child taken from the family and raped and photographed. Paedophilia. The police and the public took a dim view of it and looked down on the offenders with contempt and hatred, but Lady Saint had almost been raped herself, if she hadn't shot him in the face with a gun the fool had left out then she'd have been a goner.

" I'll get him back for this, Hermione. I promise that. He'll get his soon."

Hermione looked at Lara, the other girl was looking at her with sadness and sympathy, but she also saw the fury which was hidden behind her green eyes.

" Not before I'm through with him." Emma whispered in hatred. Lara didn't doubt that.

Lily's tears had subsided enough for her to get a word out, " Am….am I one of the….." she couldn't say it.

But Lara understood, and her face told the story.

Lily burst into tears again, Emma and Hermione came over to hug the distraught red head.

Amelia Bones was working in her office when Lara flamed in with Fawkes. The Minister jumped almost a foot out of the chair. The former head of the DMLE whipped out her wand, before lowering it when she saw who it was.

" Dammit Lara, you almost killed me, what're you doing with Fawkes ?" Amelia smiled.

But Lara wasn't in the mood for idle chit chat. She dropped her backpack on the desk.

Amelia wondered what was wrong, she looked at the pack, then looked into her friends face, " What's wrong ?"

Lara grimly opened the pack, showing Amelia the pictures. Amelia took them, stunned in horror and disbelief, then with mounting rage.

She looked up into Lara's eyes, and whispered, " How did you….?"

" Fawkes took me to Dumbledore's office," she handed Amelia one of the journals out of the six she'd recovered," I also left behind a note telling him that I know his dirty little secrets, that I'll take him down. Piece by piece."

Amelia looked at the grim face of Lara Taylor, she sensed that there was more to this visit than these filthy images.

" What do you want me to do ?"

" Send these images to the Prophet, force the public to see the real Albus Dumbledore," Lara took out a small wooden box and opened it, revealing numerous memories. " I've examined these memories, an entire hour of watching these memories. They show all of Dumbledore's conquests of raping children, including those that don't go to Hogwarts. There are over 70 memories there Amelia, go through them."

Amelia shook her head, not out of refusal but out of curiosity, " Why don't you want me to arrest him ?"

Lara smirked, the first smirk she'd had today, " I want to take him down Amelia, print those pictures in the prophet, run those memories round and round until the myth is shattered like a pane of glass. I left a note remember ? I intend to make Dumbledore pay a terrible price for interfering in my affairs. This is better than I expected."

Amelia and Lara spent the next hour going through the journal, sorting out the worst of the lot and making plans. They included many of the crimes from Hogwarts, intending to show the magical community that the man they trusted with their children's safety and education was abusing them, they also included the crimes that Dumbledore had committed against Fawkes, showing that the man had abused the familiar's bond and forcing rituals and spells making it hard for the phoenix to fight back.

That last crime would shatter a good portion of Dumbledore's leader of the light image, showing him to be nothing more than a charlatan. Real leaders of the light would never abuse the bond of a familiar, the bond was sacred.

Other crimes included the murder of many families, forcing the guardian rights to fall into Dumbledore's hands and giving him the ability to rob the children dry so then they would have nothing. The number of names in the journal was around 123. 123 families, robbed dry by Albus Dumbledore. Amelia would show Gringotts this, and verify the theft.

Theft from families was expressly illegal and the penalties were severe. It was fortunate that the Bones, Malfoy, Crouch, Nott, Greengrass and Potter families hadn't been robbed, some because they had no link with the old fool, Amelia herself had next to no contact with the man.

Like Lara, Amelia wanted Dumbledore to suffer for his crimes, and couldn't help but think that this was poetic justice. Like Amelia, Lara could be a right bitch when she wanted.

Yep, they were like two peas in a pod.

**DUMBLEDORE RAPES CHILDREN ?**

The Daily Prophet's early morning edition was sent to EVERY magical home and person regardless of who they were, even the muggleborn members outside magical society. Amelia wanted the whole magical world to know, that included the ones outside the magical world. The muggleborn's parent had a right to know. The backlash was felt throughout the magical world. The pictures showed children from Dean Thomas, Hermione Granger and others undressed, and looking distraught, looking like they'd been betrayed, like they had no one to turn to for help.

Dumbledore's crimes didn't extend just to people who had no magical blood in their lineage, the crimes also went to those who'd had magic in their bloodlines for generations.

The article also revealed a number of Dumbledore's worst crimes, stealing money from children who were under his care after he'd murdered their families, leaving them with nothing.

The news that Lara Potter had now bonded with Fawkes was also headline news, the shock the magical world felt when it was revealed the old bastard had meddled in the familiar bond was something the magical could never forgive. Familiar bonds were sacred, the wizard sharing their lives with a magical creature, especially one as sacred and magical as a phoenix, to meddle with the bond was considered tantamount to kidnapping and imprisonment.

Dumbledore was finding it hard to believe that only an hour ago, he'd been headmaster of Hogwarts, a valued and influential member of magical society, the defeater of a dark lord, a man who lived in luxury and had access to the very best life had to offer.

His present living conditions, however, would've made Lady Saint leap for joy and high fiving life itself. It consisted of a small, cramped, and very dark single room. Dumbledore maintained a number of properties, but this one was off the list Gringotts and the Ministry possessed, Dumbledore, in an act of actual intelligence, had bought this flat through a muggle agency. It was fortunate that Dumbledore had bought the place as rents were exorbitant.

It was also fortunate that there were millions of wards, many of them dark as well as light, which prevented the neighbours from hearing Dumbledore scream and curse, swearing on his mother and sister's graves that he would kill Lara Potter, never mind his plans for the greater good. This was it.

Lady Saint was going to die.


	20. Chapter 20

**This chapter has sex references. **

**Money ? What money ?**

As the days went by the newspapers continuously reported muggleborn parents withdrawing their children from Hogwarts. Lara wasn't surprised, the magical world had never been completely kind to the children from the mundane world, they'd relied on Hogwarts to protect them. Those pictures and those journals completely shattered the myth Hogwarts was safe. Was it any wonder the parents were withdrawing their kids ? Lara wouldn't be completely surprised if the kids told their parents what the school was really like. Lara had told Amelia to show the ignorant masses of Britain just how harmful their decisions had been.

For the past 7 centuries, magical kind was stagnating, the bloodlines were producing more squibs, pureblood families were dying out. Instead of actually taking in muggle borns into the families, they instead married their own cousins.

Was it any wonder why magical kind was dying out ?

Magical kind, particularly the communities in Europe with the exceptions of Italy, Spain, Portugal and France, were dying out.

Magical Britain was stagnant, the number of purebloods sent to magical schools had gone down considerably over the last 200 years whilst the number of children from non magical backgrounds was shooting up and up. The reasons for this was because of the simple fact that purebloods were either a, marrying their closest cousins, or b, simply making purebloods marry purebloods only, which was a limited choice. There were very few purebloods left.

Amelia had worked hard to ensure that this information was sent directly to the news publishers, along with the threat that if they didn't then they would be banned in the magical world. Besides, with Lara Potter's word backing the news, publications had no choice. Lara hadn't particularly wanted to use her name to do this, but when she worked out the rationale behind it she accepted. Nothing made her happier than bringing out into the light the dirty laundry the magical people ignored.

The information and it's implications were terrifying, and what was worse Voldemort, who showed a façade of wanting purebloods to rise up again, was making the situation worse.

The last two dark lords, which included the present one, had wiped out a small but growing number of pureblood casualties. During Lord Voldemort's first reign of terror quite a few families had been wiped out in numbers that represented genocide, the fact their murderers were pureblooded witches and wizards was also pointed out.

Amelia made sure this information was printed with other hints, the more people Voldemort killed the greater his so called goals would never reach fruition. The number of squibs being born was growing and growing everyday of the week to families that had been magical for centuries. Amelia had no hesitation in pointing out that it was the families' own fault for the mess in the first place.

Dumbledore's own contribution had just made the unstable situation worse - by raping muggleborn children and Amelia revealing it, he'd just driven out the only way for the magical world to survive. The news of this put many purebloods off their meals for weeks.

The idea of non pure magical blood being their saviour made many of the extremists ill. Lara, of course, didn't care. She just wanted them to wake up and see the real world, not the black and white world they saw things. Maybe if they did, magical kind could leave the gutter and enter the modern world.

When it was revealed Dumbledore was a hidden pureblood supremacist the outcry was loud enough to stun the afterlife, Dumbledore had long been a champion of muggleborns, to find he wasn't stunned the light to the core.

Lady Saint read the Prophet, her meetings with Amelia, the only trusted contact she had, made her cringe with disgust at the sudden realisation the magical world now had about the collective harm they'd been doing to the muggleborns. Lara had met the American wizards, compared them and their way of thinking to the way the British wizards thought.

The fact Americans had made a new life on the other side of the world, coupled with the fact the first settlers had very few purebloods in their original number, had meant that the need for muggle blood was too great for the pathetic prejudices in Europe.

It was the same worldwide, Lara had met Australians, Italians, New Zealanders, Japanese, Chinese….the list went on and on.

Lara shared those meetings with Amelia and her parents, Amelia had been disappointed that the British lack of thinking ahead could mean their end. But Lara pointed out that it wasn't the end of the world.

The muggle world had dozens of children being born everyday, the number of those children being born with magic was seriously high. All Amelia needed to do was ensure their safety and ensure that people like the death eaters, Voldemort and Dumbledore didn't exist to ensure the magical world's extinction.

" Even if magical Britain dies out, it's not the end of the world. There are still dozens of countries out there, all with their own way of doing things. If I were you Amelia, I'd ask them for help with this issue. Never mind the backlash, would you want to be remembered as the Minister responsible for destroying the British wizarding world ?" Lara had stated at one of their many meetings.

Lady Saint was seated at one of the many tables in Potter manor, a laptop in her lap as she went over the information. A small smile curved her face.

Hermione dropped into a seat near her, " Whatcha doing ?"

Since the revelations in the prophet, Hermione had changed a lot of her outlook on life. It wasn't everyday that you learnt that you'd been summoned to your headmaster's office and then deaged and then raped. Hermione hadn't been happy to learn that what had happened to her would be printed all over a newspaper and in quite a few editions, but that ebbed when she heard that the news had meant Dumbledore had been ousted from headmaster and all his titles and awards had been stripped away from him.

Lara turned to look at Hermione, they'd become sort of friends, not as close as some might think, but it was there.

" Checking a bank."

Hermione frowned as she looked at the screen, " An American bank ?"

Lara's smirk didn't waver, " It's not my account."

" WHAT ?"

Hermione's scream brought the Potters and her parents into the room, the Potters had their wands drawn but they put them back into their robes when they saw it was just Lara and Hermione.

" No need to shout Hermione," Lara chided the other witch as if their parents weren't there.

" But you're hacked into another persons bank account !"

By now both Potters and Grangers had found out the problem but Lara paid them no attention whatsoever.

Lara's smirk became larger until it dominated her face, " Didn't it occur to you to ask whose account it is ?"

James interrupted before they heard Hermione go on about injustice, sometimes her desire for fairness and justice for all could be incredibly taxing.

" Whose account is it then ?"

" Voldemorts. Did you really think that when he made plans to conquer the world that Voldemort wouldn't need cash ? No, in order to wage war you need," Lara held up her fingers and counted off, " Propaganda, to inspire and to shake the foundations of the opponent," another finger, " resources, in this case, potion ingredients, books, materials and fabrics for the robes of the death eaters, " one more finger, " Money."

Lara held out the laptop, " Voldemort's money comes from the muggle world, from drug trafficking to be exact."

" Drug trafficking ? You mean a dark lord that hates normal people would do something like that ?" Emma asked, finding it hard to believe that someone as bigoted and evil as Voldemort would be so hypocritical.

Lara nodded, " Yes, I found out about the labs a few years back when I was in the states. Some of the people in the organisation had long term compulsion charms on them. After checking the soul piece America removed from me it wasn't hard to determine who'd done it."

James was confused, " Why would he do it ?"

" Money, drug dealing is big business. Voldemort cast spells on everyone in the drug organisation, meaning he gets a good majority of the proceeds."

Hermione wanted to know more, " How did you find out about it ?"

Lara leant back and started to speak, " The soul piece, it allowed me to enter Voldemort's mind without him knowing it. I found out everything, every contact, every little crime the snivelling little shit's committed. Plus, the bank details. When I found those out, it didn't take much ingenuity for me to fake details and arrange for online banking. That way I can see how much profit he's made each year. Its quite high."

Lily whispered, " What're you going to do ?"

" I'm going to close the account, transfer it to my own and siphon it too charities. Voldemort will get the letter stating it's been closed, and I'll enjoy every minute of it."

New York.

It was weird, really, seeing this part of the city. Hermione had, of course, been to New York before she'd discovered she was a witch, but she'd seen a different side of the city. The good, kind side, the side where crime didn't exist.

But not here.

Hermione had, of course, seen movies where cities were where predators roamed the streets, as a result she had a very real fear that she could be dragged to an alleyway, and raped.

She had no idea why Lara had dragged her here, she could easily have done this on her own.

The warehouse Lara told her where Voldemort had set up part of his drug trafficking empire was non descript, it was shabby, but Hermione knew better than to underestimate someone like Voldemort. He'd designed this empire to avoid attention, and it had worked.

But that was until he met Lady Saint.

Hermione looked at Lara, she was dressed in a black hoodie, black trousers and trainers, a satchel slung over her shoulder. Hermione herself was dressed in similar clothes, but she wasn't as confident as Lara. Ever since she'd discovered she'd been raped multiple times by a man she'd trusted, Hermione had been training herself to fight back. Anger now coursed through her at the thought of the old pervert, but she didn't know what use she'd be here.

Lara's whisper broke in on her thoughts, " Right, I'm going up to those goons. Stay here. Cover me. If they grab me, curse them. But please," she pleaded, " Kill them, don't stun them."

Hermione swung round to see Lara, she'd changed her outfit. She was dressed like a slut, hair done up into a high chav ponytail, face caked in makeup, blouse at least a couple of sizes too small, high heeled boots, extra short skirt. Hermione's eyes widened as she realised what was happening.

" You are kidding. You didn't say you'd be doing this."

Lara grinned, " I've got to catch them off guard, besides if my parents had heard what I'd had in mind they wouldn't have allowed us to come here."

" But Lara -"

" No, I'm doing this. Besides, I've learnt from the best. I was friends with a prostitute once. Lovely woman, pity she died."

" Died ? Died of what ?" Hermione jumped at the word.

Lara shrugged, " Someone snapped her neck when she um bit his neck. Stupid fool."

Before Hermione could say another word, Lady Saint had gone, flouncing off towards the men guarding the warehouse.

Lady Saint, or in this disguise, Laura, flounced towards the goons outside the warehouse. Before she stepped into the light, she brought out a massive bottle of whiskey. She poured some on herself, the more these guys thought of her as some cheap whore, the better.

Lara checked her daggers and her other weapons. This was a dangerous case, and she wasn't going to risk herself for anything unless she had no other option.

As soon as the goons saw her, they stopped chatting to themselves, Lara felt disgust their lusty looks. One of them wolf whistled her.

" Hey baby," one of them said, walking over to her and hugging her. Lara played along, she purred as the guy fondled her breasts.

Whilst she felt disgust for what this lowlife piece of shit was doing, she knew she had no choice.

" How much ya got ?" she asked, putting on an airhead voice that sounded drunk.

" Thirty bucks."

" Oh," she pretended to pout, then she brightened, " Tell ya what, call your friend over, and I'll do you both for twenty each."

The crook pressed his growing erection against Lara's thigh, and it took all of her self control not to punch him for touching her there.

When the crook called his mate over and told her what she wanted, he agreed. Nighttimes were lonely, especially when you had to guard a drug lab in the middle of the Manhattan docks. Whenever a slut came over, they usually took advantage and fucked her till she died of exhaustion.

Lara led them away from the warehouse, into a quiet corner. She'd chosen this place because whilst anyone in the doorway of the warehouse wouldn't be able to see anything in this place, she could see easily whenever someone came out to check on the sentries.

Lara dropped to her knees, pretending to look subservient and meek, both men took out their penises and rubbed them hard. Giving a sultry, slutty and bimboish smile, she grabbed them both and gently rubbed them with her fingers. Both men were now groaning with lust, and one of them grabbed her head and pushed it towards his phallus. Before the tip even touched her lips, she reacted and grabbed one of her daggers.

Before the sex starved sentry could do anything, he found himself with his penis sliced off, and the whore with a dagger in her hand. He was in absolute agony, but he couldn't move as he was in shock over the attack. Lady Saint shot him with a smile, and then plunged her blade into his chest.

The whole murder took at least 20 seconds. The other thug, stunned by the assault on his partner, tried to grab his gun. But his mind was so fogged with arousal that Lara sliced his throat open with a quick flick of her wrist. The thug fell to the same blood soaked ground as his colleague.

Lady Saint stood in the faded light between the crates. She remembered the last time she'd attacked and killed someone like this, how she'd sliced off their bits and then killed them before they could scream.

Emotionlessly, and without a shred of remorse, she clicked her fingers and her whore disguise vanished, returning her outfit to what it had been before.

Hermione had been on tenterhooks since Lara had left her, so when she came back without a mark on her Hermione was thrilled.

" What happened to them ?" she asked.

Lara's reply was as enigmatic and short, as usual, but this time Hermione had the general gist of what had happened.

" They died of sex."

Both girls entered the warehouse without any problems, there wasn't anyone here. That fitted the information Lara had gathered on this lab, the people that did work here stayed until 11.00 at night. The sentries on duty were there to protect it and keep the lab as secret as possible.

Lara had found out that Lord Voldemort had wanted this laboratory as secret as possible, the only way he could do that was to ensure the use of spells.

" Did you feel that tingling when we passed through the doorway ?" she asked Hermione.

" Yes, what was it ?"

Lara held her gun in one hand, and the other held onto one of her daggers, she kept her eyes and ears peeled as she explained, " Voldemort knew that drugs were becoming an increasing concern to the law. When ever the gang are lead here they pass through the doorway. The doorway has been imbued with a number of charms and incantations. The compulsion charm goes….protect this place, do not speak of this place with anyone. Kill anyone who asks you questions, and leave no evidence leading back here. That sort of thing."

Hermione understood, " So Lord Voldemort doesn't want this place to be raided by the police."

" Yes, the last place anyone would expect Voldemort to build a financial fortune in the Muggle world, the place he's trying to destroy. No wizard would ever conceive of such a plan. He knew that, so he made plans."

The two girls entered the labs, the gardens that grew the drug plants. Hermione gasped at the size of the place, then she saw the scientific lab that held the equipment that refined the plants and sorted out the various powders.

Hermione saw the massive boxes of plastic sachets, some of them were filled with white powders with them labelled with the names - Heroin, Cocaine etc.

Lara held out the satchel and took out a can of petrol. She opened it and threw it around. Lara looked at Hermione,

" Help me, there's another can."

Hermione took the can and chucked it around the labs, splashing it all over the lab, the plants, she had no qualms about doing this. She'd read about the effects of drug abuse, that anyone would use them to make a fortune to wage war was enough to make her ill.

When they'd finished, Lara lit a match. She stared at Hermione, " The final battle is near. This," she held up the match, " is just the greeting's card."

She threw the match on the petrol. With a whoosh, the petrol was set alight.

Lord Voldemort was reading a muggle newspaper that he got from New York. Since most of his drug trafficking operations took place in New York, Voldemort liked to kept aware of what happened in the city. Something, no matter how small could affect his operations.

When he saw the picture of the warehouse being set alight, the headline read, " Lady Saint destroys drug lab !", when he read that he went mad with rage and fear.

She knew everything about him ! How ? Who'd betrayed him and why ?

Another thing that pissed him off was the letter from his drug bank. They wrote that they were sorry that he'd closed his longterm account.

Lord Voldemort couldn't believe it.

On his newspaper, the sign of Lady Saint chilled his blood.


	21. Chapter 21 The New Leader of the Order

**The New Leader of the Order of the Phoenix. **

Hogwarts was virtually empty, many of the muggleborn students had been taken out of the school, including the pureblood students when their parents realised that the old and fabled school was no longer the pure place of learning it had been for a thousand years. But the damage now was beyond description, the school may not recover.

Many pureblood families, furious that Dumbledore had stolen from the pure, did the same. Now Hogwarts seemed closer to closure than ever. Something Voldemort, even at the height of his powers, had never been able to do. Dumbledore had destroyed many illusions, one being Hogwarts was safe, and Albus Dumbledore was a good man.

Minerva McGonagall was nervous, she was meeting with the two people responsible for Dumbledore being revealed. When Lara, her parents, and the Grangers and Hermione, much to the old professor's surprise, appeared with Amelia Bones, McGonagall looked like she couldn't take anymore surprises.

Amelia greeted her friend, but her voice was formal, " Hello Minerva."

" Madam Minister, thank you for coming. I must say I'm surprised that you brought the Grangers." Minerva said, looking curiously at the Grangers.

Dan was in no mood for pleasantries or the superiority of the magical world, " I wanted to ask you a few questions, the first being, why did you lie to me ?"

McGonagall frowned, " I'm afraid I don't under - "

" I mean you telling me and my wife our daughter would be safe ! What do we find, dragons, people falling off brooms, dark lords rising, mystical stones, giant petrifying snakes, trips to the infirmary. On top of that, being raped by the headmaster on a regular basis, being deaged and having their minds wiped ! Is that what you call safe ? Does that ring any bells ?" Dan asked dangerously.

McGonagall closed her eyes, unable to face the Grangers. They were right, she had essentially lied to them, just like the magical world had lied to the muggle families. They'd told them that they would be welcome, that Hogwarts would provide them with a decent and complete education in magic. She'd lied to them. Dumbledore had raped their children, indulging in his sick fantasies.

She was just about to respond when she caught the smirk on Lara Potter's face, " Why are you smirking at me ?"

Lara's smirk became a Malfoy - Snape grade sneer, " It's not often I see a witch squirm, particularly a Hogwarts professor."

" But you've never been to Hogwarts, by what right do you have to make judgements ?"

Lara leant back in her seat, she gestured to her parents, who were staring at her and wondering what she was going to say next. Lara had a gift for observing and pointing out the flaws in people and their logic.

" Ah, you're right, of course, I've never had the displeasure of coming here, and being a student," Lara pointed at her parents, " Do you know how long I've been hearing of this place ? Hearing about how Gryffindors are good, Slytherins are evil, Hufflepuffs are fools and Ravenclaws are brainiacs ? On top of that I was treated lower than pond life. I learnt, from an early age I might add, the meanings of prejudice, stupidity, wanton ignorance. The list is endless," Lara's look of contempt was so thick that it could be sliced off with a blowtorch, added to that her smirk made the whole thing worse.

" You know, Professor, Hogwarts isn't the school it was. Even if you could, you couldn't ever restore Hogwart's reputation. Not after what Dumbledore's done. Stealing money, rape, wiping memories, using the mind arts on children, employing death eaters, allowing harm to come to the students without lifting a finger. There's nothing you can do. The cloud Dumbledore's now hung over this place will stay here forever." Lara stated, folding her hands and looking at McGonagall with a twinkle in her eyes, but it was nothing like Dumbledore's, this one was cold.

McGonagall was trying to hold her patience, but Lara caught up with her, " Why did you ask to see me ? I'm a busy girl."

" I need your help to repair the damage. With your help, with your name…."

" No." Lara's answer was final.

Minerva floundered, " But why ? Your parents came to this school and - "

" Don't I know it, I have had to listen to these two," she pointed once more at her parents, " talk about Hogwarts as if it's heaven. Don't use that little fact with me again. I don't care about Hogwarts. If this place is stamped into the ground then so be it."

Minerva couldn't believe anyone would like to see Hogwarts destroyed. In her mind, such an idea was sacrilege.

" But why don't you care ?"

Lara got up and moved close to McGonagall, leaning over the table. She came so close Minerva could see all the freckles on her face.

" I've been going to dozens of schools, Professor. Since I was seven, and in all that time I never saw or heard of a school that believed so much in its own reputation. That's the trouble. Hogwarts breeds stereotypes, you believe one 4th of your students are good, courageous people who run headfirst into danger, you believe one 4th is too smart, you believe one 4th is a load of boring squibs, doormats. Last, but not least, you point fingers at the final quarter of the school, calling them death eaters in training. How many Death eaters have been in Slytherin ? I've checked. Only a few have been in Slytherin. Believe me, I know, I've killed enough." Lara paused, before she started again, " Even if you can restore even a smidgen of Hogwarts to what it had been before, would you stop the senselessness of the stereotypical ignorance of the magical world ?"

McGonagall knew the house system wasn't perfect, far from it, but she didn't understand why this girl was being so critical, at least, that was how she saw it.

" I don't follow - "

Lily interrupted, " She means that it's the system at Hogwarts, and the way the Ministry and the rest of the magical community seems to destroy lives and force people to become dark lords, whilst praising people that don't do anything. Like the order." she added.

McGonagall winced, the order was now in total disarray. The newspaper articles had destroyed Dumbledore's credibility, and that of those closest to him. The order had fractured, part of them blindly believed in the old man and his now shattered image, one third wanted to give up, the rest simply wanted to keep fighting. That contingent was led by Alastair Moody. Moody was taking the order group he had and was trying to make them fight the way he wanted.

Dumbledore's old philosophies were no longer valid after he'd raped the new generation of witches and wizards without care or remorse, and to make matters worse the old man had fled before the Ministry aurors had managed to get hold of him. Dumbledore may be powerful, but he was one man. Minerva had every belief he'd be back, his stubborn pride would demand no less.

Maybe if Moody and Lara could….it might be worth a try.

" About the order, Miss Potter, I was wondering if you might help me there. The Order is fractured, one third is blindly loyal to Dumbledore, even after the proof came out, one third is still fighting under Alistair Moody and finally, the last third that wants to simply give up." Minerva looked Lara in the eye, hoping she was sounding reasonable.

But Lara looked uninterested, " Why should I care about the Order ? You lot have spent more time looking and trying to detain me, hoping to mould me into someone and something I'm not and will never be. What guarantee would I have that Moody is nothing like Dumbledore ?"

McGonagall took a deep breath, " Alistair is an ex auror - " It was at that moment Lara lost what little patience she had, and she snapped.

" I know that ! Give me something interesting, something realistic !" Lara shouted. Taking a deep breath to control herself, she hissed, " Do you really believe I don't know every single member of the Order ? Minerva McGonagall, Arthur and Molly and Bill and Charlie Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks, Emmaline Vance, Hestia Jones, Alistair Mooody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, those are just the tip of the iceberg. I know the names, the addresses of all your members. Be grateful that I didn't kill someone, or worse," she added, giving her voice a sinister menace that made the people in the office shiver, " You certainly gave me more than enough reason too. Breaking into my home, watching me, multiple attempted kidnap attempts, spying on me, trying to attack me when I was busy fighting against the death eaters, trying to make me into a brood mare for some useless coward who thinks he's better than everyone due to an inferiority complex a mile wide, trying to make someone my guardian when there's proof, if any be needed, that I am more than capable of looking after myself. Don't insult my intelligence. You'll live longer."

Lara went back to her seat, and then simply waited for the aged professor to speak. When she didn't, Lara did. She'd just had an epiphany. She sent a look towards the others, telling them to be quiet. They did as they were told mentally, knowing Lara's terrible temper.

" Alright, have Moody meet me in Potter manor tomorrow morning at . Advise him that if there's any treachery, then I'll make sure me spends the rest of his paranoid life in St. Mungos."

" Why do you want to meet Moody ?" James asked curiously, he had no problem with the old auror. Out of the rest of the Order he was by far the most with common sense. The disputes between him and Dumbledore had been legendary. The two men were completely different. Moody was an extremist, willing to take life, whilst Dumbledore was the opposite.

Lara was looking out of the window, watching the rain. She'd always liked rain, more than snow. Rain was pure, it gave life into the soil.

" I want to know where he stands, Dumbledore had the others wrapped around his finger. Even you," she added looking at her father. Turning back to the window, " Lara carried on with her idea.

" Moody is known as an extremist, if he's willing to work with me instead of locking me up, and gives his word, then I'll give him a chance."

Lily came in with some tea and coffee, she was followed by Hermione and Emma. Lily overheard part of the conversation.

" I think you can trust Moody Lara, he's determined to stop Voldemort and the death eaters, but he doesn't think it should be done in Dumbledore's way." Lily said, setting the tray down and letting everyone take some tea and biscuits.

Lara didn't sit down. She carried on talking, " I'm worried, I admit. This deal can go both ways or pear shaped. Moody could do, or try, to do what Dumbledore wanted."

Hermione frowned thoughtfully, " If everything goes well what is it you want to do with the Order ? I can't see you sitting in on meetings."

Lara laughed, " How well you know me Hermione, you've come a long way from the arrogant fool that came with the old man into my home." she sobered up, but Hermione knew this was a compliment regardless of how she said it.

Lara sighed, " If Moody and the others, and I'm confident that he'll bring someone or someone's here tomorrow, and he does try something, I will stick to my threat."

Emma was puzzled, " But aren't you on the same side ?"

Lara looked at her with a smile, " Ah, to be a non magical person, with normal wants and values. You have no idea how blurred the lines between common sense and recklessness are. In a sense, the order and I want Voldemort dead and buried, but they think the best way to do that would be to lock me up, all to see the blessed light. They don't see that my methods get results. For the past month, I've executed dozens of death eaters. The Order ? They haven't done a fucking thing to stop Voldmeort. They haven't closed down the vaults of suspects, they don't go to some of the so called dark families and persuade them for help, they don't raid death eater camps. When an attack comes, they do nothing. They send members to the aftermath, where there are no survivors."

Lara took a deep breath, " Does that answer your question.

The next day, preparations were being made for Moody's arrival. The Potters and Grangers were hiding small black objects around the manor. Lara said they were magical dampening fields, more powerful than the one she generated herself. Only this one was a wide spectrum blocker, they were incredibly powerful, and capable of stopping port keys and any other form of transport.

When 10 o clock came, the Potters and Grangers were waiting. The Potters were looking at Lara closely, keeping an eye on her and hoping she was making the right decision. When Moody arrived, Lara found she'd been right on the money. Moody had brought company. Tonks and Black were with him. Sirius looked nervous at being here, back with his friend, or the person he still hoped was his friend.

The newspapers had shattered the Orders credibility, and now they needed Lara to help them back to their feet, something many of the Order didn't want, Sirius and Remus among them.

Lara activated the dampening fields at once the moment the 3 had fully materialised, but she wasn't going to tell them that. If they tried anything she wanted to see their looks of surprise in case they did try something, if there was one thing Lara liked about arrogant people, it was showing them up. Magical kind was too easy, it was kind of pathetic.

Keeping her face and tone neutral, Lara said, " Thank you for coming on time. We have much to discuss."

Alastair Moody looked carefully at Lara, wondering if this was a trap. Minerva had sounded almost, emphasis on almost, positive about this meeting. Moody and the rest of the Order had tried to get this girl, but she was always a step ahead of them. It was embarrassing, losing to a teenage girl.

Moody spoke at last, " Yes, we do."

Lara led them into the sitting room, the Order members sat on one side, the Grangers and the Potters sat on the other side, both watching each other.

Finally Lara broke the silence, " Answer me something, why should I help the Order of the Phoenix, and what can you offer in return ?"

Black broke in without thinking, " See I told you, she thinks only about money." he looked with contempt at Lara, who sneered back.

" No, moron. I just asked a couple of very important and key questions. Like why I should help such a decadent organisation. Do you want to win this war or not ?" Lara asked leaning back in her seat, looking as nonchalant as possible.

Moody shot Black a look, cursing the mans inability to keep his big gob shut. Couldn't the fool see how crucial this meeting was ?

" We do want to end this war, with us as the victors," Moody said.

Lara was satisfied with the way that answer went. It was genuine to her, besides it made sense. But she still wanted answers to her original questions.

" You answered that one the way I expected. But you didn't answer my first two questions, why should I help you, and what can you offer me in return ?"

Tonks interjected, " What would you like ?" She asked, thinking that Lara wanted something.

Lara shook her head and looked down at her manicured fingers, " I don't mean like that, I'm a thief and I can get whatever I need or want. Besides the magical world has nothing that I'd want. I meant can you offer me resources, people willing to get the job done. I'd think twice about the last example, from what I've seen of the order there aren't many that could curse their way out of a paper bag."

" Answer my questions."

Moody tried, " Because it's your duty, you're prophesised to kill Voldemort."

Lara closed her eyes, and Moody's heart clenched. Wrong answer ?

Yes, it was.

Lara opened her eyes, fixing Moody with a look of ice, such withering contempt that Tonks' already pink hair became grey.

" No, I know that I'm prophesised, something that could have been avoided if you'd done away with Voldemort in the first war. He's not indestructible. But Dumbledore, with his belief that he and he alone can be trusted with such details, neglected to tell others. Because of you," Lara took a deep breath, letting her resentment surface, " I am meant to do something in a world I despise with the very fibre of my being."

" You mean you hate being a thief ?" Black asked stupidly.

Lara glared at him, " Compared to being one of you, no. I love it. Constant danger, I love it. I never want to give it up. Didn't you listen ? I hate the magical world, because of you and your precious order. Answer my question, why should I help you ?"

Moody tried to respond, but then he stopped. He knew this girl wouldn't accept the moronic platitudes like the rest of the Order, even Lily and James seemed more cynical. Evidently their time with their only living child, their last child, Moody remembered, had made them rethink certain things.

They'd trusted Dumbledore, they all had, look where that got them. Dumbledore hadn't left the Potters alone, he'd poked and prodded his way into their lives, even their home. Instead of waiting to see which of the twins were the one, he'd instead told the magical world Harry was the chosen one. Bit stupid really, getting everyone worshipping a child like that.

But then the truth had come out, as it always did in the end, and then there was trouble. Dumbledore had been hoping for someone like Harry, but he found himself tangling with Lara Potter, someone who was a confirmed thief, someone who believed in her own abilities, and didn't like putting herself in other people's hands.

Now look what was happening.

Dumbledore was far from the light leader he'd portrayed to the world all these years, and now the Order was in disarray. Their only help was Lara, the one who they'd been watching and following all summer.

" Because you want to see Voldemort gone as much as we do." Moody said.

Lara nodded, " You've got that right, but then again you are missing the point. I know enough about the first war to know that you did little to stop him. You didn't know about the Horcruxes, because your wonderful former leader believed he, and he alone, could handle such information. So much for that idea. I've spent the past year gathering the fucking things, and destroying them. What've you done ? Nothing. You don't," she held up a hand and counted off her fingers.

" Recruit members from the Auror department, people who have the ears of others, people who hear things. Instead, you recruit from the society where your members are talent less, old, unable to hold their own in a duel, " a finger.

" The intelligence gathering system of the Order is also shoddy. You could track down suspected death eaters, or death eater sympathisers. They can't be that hard to find, your people have no subtlety, even the Slytherins. You don't cast tracking spells on said suspects, you don't keep them under surveillance. Instead, you trust the word of a confirmed death eater. Did you know that he is loyal to Voldemort, that he's actually reporting back to his real master ? Voldemort may be mad, he may be a psychopath. But he knows how to fight a real war, and it isn't the namby pamby baby way you do it. He knows the value of killing enemies whilst you lock the bastards up," another finger.

" You don't question your own members. From what I gather you trust them all, just because Dumbledore told you too. Did you never hear of double agents ? They could be playing both sides for fools," another finger down.

" You don't bother training the least able of your group. No diets, no running, no fitness. It seems you depend on your aurors to save the day. No spell training to keep you all on your toes." one more finger down. Another point.

Hermione Granger was seeing the Order for real, she'd known that the Order was far from perfect but hearing it laid out like this by Lara, who'd obviously known this for some time, was probably embarrassing them. The Order members did indeed look like they were on the point of squirming.

But Lara was getting into her stride, she was enjoying herself immensely. It wasn't everyday she got to show up the Order of the Phoenix, to her, one of the most hated organisations in the world.

" You don't have autonomous cells of a few people, you never space out certain groups. One cell for intelligence gathering, one for recruitment and so on," another finger.

Moody looked like he was going to stop her from going to stop her, but Lara was on a roll. James and Lily knew their daughter well enough now to know that she wasn't going to stop.

" Then there's me," Lara said, dropping her hands, and folding her arms. She faced the three unfortunate members of the Order of the Phoenix, her green eyes cold and icy. They felt small and insignificant. They didn't realise at that point they were facing Lady Saint's persona. Again Hermione, her parents and Lily and James were awed by the ease Lara had in assuming different identities.

" You find out the truth, but instead of contacting me by using Fawkes the Phoenix, who is now my familiar I should add and emphasise at this point, you find me just by chance. You take some of my hair and use that to track me down. Then you break into my home, knocking my possessions around and touch my stuff. Didn't it occur to you to contact me first, arrange a meeting ?" Lara asked coldly, fixing them with a stare that made Lily's and Molly's look like a glaring toddler.

Tonks was the only one out of the three who gathered the courage to answer, " We -we were desperate. We didn't think - "

" Exactly !" Lara shouted. " You didn't think at all, proving you couldn't be trusted. You barged your way into my affairs, you followed me, you tried to kidnap me. When I moved into Potter manor you seemed to know right away, then you started to watch my every move. The number of times I wanted to shoot your spies in the head…." Lara shook her head but then carried on, " Not only that, but you also abandoned one of your junior members. Why ?" Lara pointed towards Hermione.

" We…forgot."

Lara took a deep breath, " You're the saddest organisation I've ever met, even the crime families have more balls than you do. But then again they knew the risks and the stakes, you don't, you don't seem to get it into your heads that there are greater things at stake than the " greater good."

" But that is going to change." The three order members looked at her strangely, wondering where she was going with this.

" I do have an idea to make Voldemort pay for what he's done, but I also intend to restructure the Order of the Phoenix."

The order members were looking at her strangely, hell everyone was looking at Lara strangely. But Hermione's eyes widened as she caught the double meaning of her statement. No…way. She thought.

" You're looking at your new leader." Lady Saint smiled, then laughed at the members.

" You can't be serious Mad eye, she's a slip of a girl." Sirius argued with Moody. Tonks, Black and Moody stood in the doorway to the living room. Moody sighed. He'd known that negotiating with Lara Potter would bring problems, but he hadn't imagined she would list the many problems that he himself was aware of. Moody had known that the Order was, at best, ineffectual to fight Voldemort. From what he'd seen and heard about Lady Saint, Moody knew that Dumbledore was at best a mere amateur. Now it was known he was a pervert the Order was fractured. Lady Saint may be able to rebuild the order.

Morons like Black weren't going to be the ones who held that back. The situation was desperate.

Moody growled, " Just because you don't like her doesn't mean she doesn't have ability. Lara Potter is the one to defeat Voldemort, and she's succeeded so far. Did we manage to neutralise that many death eaters?

" She didn't need to kill them - " Tonks tried to point out. But Moody shook his head, shaking the mane on his head around, " You two don't know the first thing about war. She does. I've already made my decision, if you two don't like it, then leave the Order."

Moody walked back into the room, followed closely by Tonks and Sirius.

Lara looked at them, noting the grim looks on all their faces. They were agreeing, she could see that without reading their minds. It was obvious in their body language as well.

Moody looked Lara into the eye, " Very well."

That was agreement in his eyes.

Lara nodded.

The Order members that turned up later that day for a meeting were both confused and wary. After being let down by Dumbledore it had taken all of Moody's persuasiveness just to call them here. Even the Weasley family, who thanks to their mother, had lost a lot. Arthur Weasley wasn't looking forward to being back in the manor, he had to restrain his children to stop them from taking out their wands and cursing the Potters.

Ron and Ginny were without a doubt the most obnoxious and arrogant children Emma and Dan Granger had ever known, the fact they both lived in fantasy worlds filled them with horror that their own father didn't, or wouldn't, see that they were mentally subnormal.

As soon as everyone was seated the members of the Order noticed that the table only held names and didn't have any food or drink, something that the members weren't used to. Lady Saint had deliberately ordered the house elves to withhold food and drink and not accept orders except from her, her parents or the Grangers.

The Order members had seated themselves down on one side of the table, when they were joined by Lara, Amelia, Lily and James, Hermione, Emma and Dan.

" What're muggles doing 'ere ?" Ron roared and jumped out, not realising that he was on thin ice.

Lara glared at him, " Sit down. You hear me, sit down," she took out a gun and pointed it at him, " SIT DOWN! Unless you want your brains blown all over the table. SIT DOWN !"

Ron glared at her, but his father and his brother Charlie dragged him down.

Lara suddenly smiled, her bright smile shocked everyone since the anger when she'd confronted Weasley, who no could stand because of his loud mouth, coarseness and arrogance, seemed to evaporate. It put many on edge.

" Thank you for coming, as for the reason why the Grangers are here, they are going to become members of the Order of the Phoenix, and before the bigoted people in this room says muggles can't do anything, they can. They can help you develop fitness levels your bodies have never had."

Ginny sneered, " Who're you to decide for us ?"

" Because Mad eye Moody has stood down from being leader of the Order of the Phoenix. He's not the one you're going to answer too, I am. I am the new leader of the Order of the Phoenix." Lara stated softly.

" My parents, Hermione, the Grangers will be joining the order tonight, among others. Tonight, there will be many changes, the start of a new regime." no one spoke, they couldn't believe what was going on.

Lara carried on, keeping her eyes on everyone and making everyone see how confident she was, " The Order of the Phoenix, in theory, is supposed to fight Lord Voldemort. But in reality, you just sit in on meetings about stupid things. You don't take the fight to him. You don't contact the families that lean close to him, giving them other options. Instead you call them death eaters, shoving them into a corner. Of course they'll join Voldemort, because you can't help but point fingers and leave them with no choice."

" That's because they're evil!" Ron shouted.

Lara's face contorted with rage, her eyes narrowed into glowing slits. When she spoke everyone shivered in terror.

" Mr Weasley," she said to Arthur, who looked like he was about to piss himself, " if you do not pull yourself together, and keep this arrogant little shit under control, I will make sure he, and any member of your family who questions me, will not see their next birthday. You're supposed to be his father, act like it."

" As for you," she snarled at Ron, who looked like he was about to shit himself as well as piss, " If I hear your voice in this meeting one more time, I will cut out your tongue, and force your fairy princess of a sister to eat it." To show she wasn't joking, Lara took out Anne and held it against his mouth.

When she was convinced he got the message, she backed off.

When she got back to the head of the table, she said clearly. Her temper was close to the surface, but everyone could see she was controlling it.

" Let me make this plain, I don't care about your opinions. But if I form a strategy that you don't think will work, then tell me. That I do want to know. But if you disobey me, I will make Voldemort look like a choirboy. Those of you who saw me torture him in Diagon Alley will know that I am not joking. It'll be less bloody, but it will hurt. As for my choices, that's my problem. Let me worry about things like that. Who I choose for the order membership is my decision, mine alone. If you don't want someone to join, then leave. I will not tolerate any form of bullying towards anyone I invite into the order. If you do, then I will strip your memories until you cannot even member your name. Albus Dumbledore may have tolerated shit like that, but I am not him."

It took an hour for everyone to accept the new changes, by the time people left they were given their new roles in the order.

When they left the lazy ones, Mundungus Fletcher and Daedalus Diggle amongst them, realised that with Lara Potter they couldn't get away with as much.

For the more proactive members, they realised that the Order was finally going to do something constructive rather than spend time in useless meetings. But they knew it was going to be far from easy for Lara to actually do more complex changes, but swore they'd try to help her.


	22. Chapter 22 Reformation Headache

**Reformation Headache. **

Lady Saint wondered whether or not living in the magical world was making her soft, not too mention whether or not her head was about to explode. The amount of work she had to do with the Order reformation was unbelievable. The Order had very little in the way of administration, the fact they didn't have much motivation for hard work was living proof of that. Lara was starting to think Albus Dumbledore had never bothered with paperwork in his life, and he simply made the bloody organisation from thin air. It would be so typical of the dozy old sod, but Lara was trying to write up plans and strategies. The fact she had to start from scratch, with only a few documents supplied by McGonagall, frayed her temper and her impatience. Lady Saint was good at drawing up strategies for heists, making schemes to topple thugs, criminals, mob families, ungodly politicians who cared about nothing but themselves, but Lara Taylor ran businesses, small scale ones that connected together, in a web.

But this….this was a nightmare.

Her parents tried to help her, but she only wanted Emma, Lily and Hermione. All three women had remarkable memories, able to recall small but pertinent facts, and they could make ideas from real common sense, something Lara had needed. Lara had told the men to redecorate the meeting room into something that could focus the members of the Order on one thing.

The War.

There were only 50 members of the Order of the Phoenix, and the sad part was not many of them knew the first thing about war or even how to use the simplest of spells to deadly effect, only….20, somewhere along those lines. It never occurred to the fools that a lighting charm could blind an opponent, that a cutting spell could easily slice a man's neck open. A simple household appliance in the non magical world could be a lethal weapon - a burning hot frying pan could scold the face of man, a fork could take an eye out. Among other things.

Lara and her mother, Emma and Hermione were getting bogged down by the amount of shit they had to do, it was ludicrous. How they could function without proper planning was beyond belief.

Hermione had made a comment to Lara one day, " Isn't burglary supposed to be simple ?"

Lara's head had shot up, her eyes burning, " Burglary requires skill, cunning and planning. Compared to this, that is like planning a holiday."

After that, no one spoke. They didn't want to try Lara's temper.

Unfortunately, the men did just that. Dan and James had been working on different ideas for developing a headquarters, but they had vastly different ideas. Dan wanted to make it look like a WW2 air force HQ, but James hadn't liked the idea of making muggle technology come into the war. He completely forgot the fact his own daughter was using non magical methods to fight the war.

Eventually the competition became one where they'd completely wrecked the room, the place was in a mess. When the noise attracted the girls, James and Dan were subjected to Lara's temper. The constant pressure, the fact she hadn't slept in 4 days straight in a row, caused her to explode. She vented her spleen on the two hapless men, shouting and screaming, throwing things at them. Lara was so angry that both men had to hold on to the very walls to stop the wind that Lara created.

Then she threw them both against the walls. She looked so frightening that words didn't do it justice.

When she calmed herself down, Lara lowered the two terrified men to the ground.

Through gritted teeth, she spat out, " You and daddy here are going to be working with me tomorrow, and pray that I am in a good mood. If not then you had better build a kennel, because I'll give you hell."

She swung round to the ladies, " Mother, you and Emma will be working on the new meeting room. I want something efficient, something that focuses their minds on the job. I know I can trust you both with that, seeing as you are both responsible adults, not 5 year olds."

Lara had stomped off in a towering temper. It took her over 2 hours to calm down, but that didn't mean her temper wasn't bubbling just below the surface of her forced calm.

As time passed Lara's mood was getting worse and worse. It grew so bad she went out and executed a good thirty death eaters. When she got back she went straight to bed, the action had done wonders and it also meant everyone could rest whilst breathing a sigh of relief that the dragon was asleep.

Unfortunately, the next day the dragon reared its head and returned. Lara had brought the Order back to the manor for a pep talk and to assign their duties and their role.

" I have something in mind to organise you. I don't know, nor do I want to know, how you thought you were organised. The truth is your not. You get in each other's way, there are no plans written down, no ideas for any strategy. That's why I'm restructuring the Order into cells, groups of up to 10 people each. Those groups will be working sometimes independently of each other, sometimes not so independently. One cell will be intelligence gathering, one group will be recruitment - I'll choose the members of that cell personally and carefully - strategists, spell casting researchers, that will be for the brightest of you, potion making, healing, and so on. There will be no bullshit, no laziness, no complacency. The people I am concerned about will be going into a cell I see fit. Those that aren't in cells will be dealing with administration, something I want to try and limit."

Lara sat down and looked each member in the eyes, thankfully Sirius and Remus were keeping their emotions under control. Lara was thankful, she doubted she could take an argument, not tonight. This night they'd receive the basics of what they were going to be doing for her in the New Order. But Lara knew they'd argue, they didn't like things coming into their routine.

" This new Order will not be staying at this manor constantly, each cell will have to find its own location, the department head will have to come here for meetings. That is non negotiable."

Ron Weasley just had to speak, " Why can't we stay here ?"

In Ron's mind, small as it was, Potter manor was paradise, comfortable bed, larger rooms, plentiful supplies of food. It didn't occur to him that the death eaters knew that the manor was the HQ of the Order, and that it presented a tempting target. For that matter Lara wouldn't be at all surprised if Voldemort himself didn't know Dumbledore had foolishly put the lives of his group at risk.

Lara looked him back in the eye, wishing the Weasley family had larger brain cells, " Suppose the death eaters become more organised, hell even send dementors ? If we all stay here, we'll all die. I've checked some of you lot, and not all of you have what it takes to be fighters. The war will be lost because we were too complacent. The death eaters have camps all over the country, some of them I've burnt to the ground. When I've reorganised you lot I'll send some of you there with some of my weapons and you can destroy them."

" You expect us to kill them ?" Diggle squeaked in shock. What this girl was proposing was unthinkable. Half the order had never killed another person.

Ever.

That could be a problem, Lara knew that.

Some of them didn't want to change that.

" We'll be no better than they are." Sirius stated.

Lara laughed, " What makes you think I'll send all of you, any of you, into battle ? None of you have what it takes, aside from Moody, to be able to kill. What makes you think I'll trust you with something of that importance ? Some of you will cock it up. Not going to happen, your old leader may've tolerated mistakes and stupidity. Not me, not Lady Saint. That reminds me, the name of this outfit will change."

" No way !" Sirius burst out, shrugging off Remus and Tonks restraining arms.

Lara speared him with a contemptuous look, " Your opinions were not asked. It's my decision, besides, I refuse to lead an organisation that doesn't feel right. The Order of the Saint, as it will be called, will be a far more different organisation. None of you will swan off and leave others to do the dirty work, you'll have to earn your keep," She said this looking at certain members - Fletcher and Diggle. " I intend to fight this war, not stun my way through it. In front of you are the department cells you shall be in, if you argue with my choices, then leave."

She raised her voice, " Come in !"

Amelia Bones, and Charlotte Pondweed came in. The Order members gawped at the two women, almost as if they'd never seen them before in their lives.

" These are new members of the Order of the Saint, along with a few more. Friends of mine. You'll meet them when I call you back."

Sirius glared at her, hating the bitch more, " You mean you've dragged us here for nothing ?"

Lara's patience and tolerance had been frayed for the past few days, she'd slept for an entire day just to prepare herself for this meeting. But she was still tired, still irritable. When Black said his stupid question her patience snapped.

" No, I dragged you, as you pointed out so eloquently, so then I could tell you people how things would be. _This _is just a pep talk, _this _is where I tell you useless idiots how things will be. I didn't _drag _you here to waste my own time. So stop pissing about with me Black, your end is already long overdue." Lara spat at him, her eyes flashing with power.

Black gulped, " What d'you mean, my end is already long overdue ?" he sounded terrified, indeed so was everyone. If they'd wanted anymore proof Lara was dangerous, this was it. To threaten someone like that, she just Had to be dangerous.

Lara gave a smile that looked charming and scared the shitting pants out of everyone in the room, " What do you think, dog boy ?"

James decided to intervene before Sirius ended up head first in a coffin, " I think he gets the point Lara,"

With a self satisfied, smug, smirk, Lara sat down. " Yes, I think you're right." the smile on her face was so catlike, frightening and dangerous. Sirius was the unfortunate victim of her stare.

Sirius Black knew that this crazed bitch hated him, but hadn't imagined she would actually threaten him during an Order meeting.

Recovering some of his bravado, Black just had to speak, " You wouldn't do it, you couldn't harm your godfather - "

Lara snapped again, why was it Dumbledore had brought this worthless lump of flesh into the Order ? Why the fuck couldn't he keep quiet.

" Godfather ? The useless spineless coward of a werewolf is my godfather," she looked with disdain at Remus, who looked back defiantly with a hint of sadness. The sadness in his eyes stoked the anger in Lara to the point it was like a volcano, waiting to erupt. " for all the good the fool was."

Remus stood up, " What does that mean ? After all the time I spent with you -" unfortunately, he didn't word it right. Lara's patience vanished once more.

" Since when ? You didn't even glance at me during all those visits. Oh no, that was for the moron that was my brother." She turned back to face Black, taking out a gun. Black eyed the weapon, fear in his eyes.

When Lara spoke, her voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper.

" You've interrupted my meeting twice so far, why is it you can't keep your mouth shut ? Answer me."

Sirius didn't respond.

Lara lost her patience, she shot a bullet at Black, embedding itself in the right of his high backed chair. Black looked at the sizeable hole in the chair, and then back at Lara.

He vaguely heard someone -was it Shack ? - say, " She's a damn good shot." the amount of awe in the voice brought Black up.

Lara leant forward, " Can I continue my meeting in silence please ?"

" She's dangerous, why can't you see that Hermione ?" Ron asked Hermione in the library. Some of the Order members still hadn't gotten it inside their heads that Lara didn't want them to stay, but the Weasleys, who lacked any form of common sense, didn't think it applied to them.

Hermione looked up from her book, she saw Ron then looked back at what she'd been reading, " Oh, so you're calling me Hermione now, are you ? Not Mudblood, not know it all, Hermione ?"

Ron went red, " What d'ya mean ? I've always called you Hermione."

" Like you called Mrs Potter by her married name ? You called her Mudblood yourself." Hermione glared at him.

" Whatever, anyway why do you stay here with her ?" he asked ignoring the questions he was getting.

Hermione sighed, putting her book down and looking with open contempt at the stupid bastard, " She saved my life, something you and the Order didn't do. Where were you, if you cared so much about me ?"

Ron looked sheepish, expecting it to work on Hermione. It didn't work because of two very good reasons. Firstly, Hermione had grown out of Ron Weasley, his childish ways made her feel ill. But that was nothing compared to how she felt about his bigotry, his biased nature, and his lack of tact. Hermione had had time to think when she was alienating everyone when Lara had saved her life, and the life of her parents.

Ron Weasley had never been there for her, she realised. He was far from the person Hermione had dreamt of having as a spouse, let alone a potential boyfriend. His childishness was also a turn off for Hermione, especially since Hermione had an ambitious nature. She wanted to rise higher than other people, but Ron…..he had plans, ambitions of his own, but he lacked the drive to carry himself forward. It was pathetic.

Secondly, the time she'd spent with Lara had made her think about how he and the Order had been. The Order had only tolerated her, why she didn't know and frankly didn't want to know now. Lara had taught her to see things in direct line of sight. Lara had shown her when she'd gone to New York to destroy the drug lab that the best place to hide something could be in plain sight.

The fact Ron and the Order had been hiding their bigotry and spouting off that they were the best defence organisation ever because of Dumbledore's leadership made it clear that they were liars.

" Go on," Hermione challenged, " Where were you ? Did you actually know about the attack, or were you just interested in fucking a girl that just isn't interested in you, Ronald Weasley, a boy who wont get over his stupid fear of spiders, and gets pissed off when someone tries to talk to him, to make him see sense ?"

Ron was losing his temper, but Hermione didn't let him finish. If he didn't like what he was going to hear, then that was his problem, not hers. Hermione Granger had changed.

" You don't get it do you ? Lara isn't interested in you, and neither am I. Lara is only dangerous to her enemies, she doesn't trust the Order members for very good reasons."

" We were trying to stop her going dark."

" How ? By breaking into her home, by spying on her, by trying to kidnap her, both legally and illegally ?" Hermione couldn't see the logic, especially now she was now seeing Dumbledore in a different light.

Ron sneered at her, forgetting that he was trying to get her on board his train of thinking. The bookworm was arguing with her, and he didn't like it.

" You agreed with Dumbledore, hell you even helped him !"

Hermione looked down. She needed to take a deep breath. " I know that, and I regret it everyday. I was blinded by someone who didn't deserve my respect."

" Dumbledore's the greatest wizard who ever lived !"

" Then why did he rape me ? Why did he de age me and wipe my memories ? You can't say that's the work of a great wizard can you ?" Hermione challenged, looking closely into the arrogant wizard's eyes.

Weasley didn't say a thing because he couldn't think of one, giving the angry witch a chance to continue her point.

" Face facts, be honest. Dumbledore is as fraudulent as Lockhart, only worse. What's he ever done for you, for me ? He said he'd protect my family. He lied. He never came. As a result, my parents almost died." Hermione shouted.

Ron spoke without thinking, as usual, " So what, their only muggles."

Unfortunately, the argument had witnesses. Lara and her parents, and Emma and Dan. The remaining Weasleys were also there, along with other members of the Order. The Grangers were just as angry at the callousness of the thick redhead, Dan wanted to go over there and break the little bastards neck.

Hermione lost it, she slapped Ron across the cheek with a sound that reverberated around the room. Ron staggered back and when he recovered himself, he advanced on Hermione, his hand raised.

Moving quickly, Lara moved and grabbed hold of Ron's wrist. She twisted it, snapping it like a twig. Ron screamed, a hideous sound that brought everyone up short.

" You call yourself a light wizard," Lara whispered, but everyone heard her, " and yet, you attack a girl because she doesn't agree with you. You are a weakling, a coward. You have no place here."

She let him go, and clicked her fingers. Ron staggered back but when he tried to speak, or more likely throw abuse at Lara, his mouth moved but nothing came out.

Arthur Weasley came over at once. When he got to them, he glared at Lara, " What've you done to my son ?"

Lara put her hands in her pockets, " I've made him both deaf and mute, maybe now he'll know how it feels to be different. Maybe it will make him grow up. It will wear off. Eventually."

" Take it off now !"

Lara voice became colder, " No, your son needs to learn that some things will not be allowed in the Order. I don't know if you noticed it or not, but he just showed how callous he is. He insinuated that just because Hermione's parents are muggles then their lives are worthless. That attitude has no place in the Order from now on. If you don't like it, then leave."

It took time for Ron to recover from what happened, but what did happen went through the Order like wildfire. The Order were now learning their new tasks. But Lara knew that they were far from perfect for what she had in mind. She only hoped they had enough sense to initiative.

If not, they were in trouble.


	23. Chapter 23 The Order of the Saint

**The Order of the Saint. **

To say it took the Order of the Phoenix a short time to become the Order of the Saint was a laugh, not that the members were laughing. Lady Saint had left the door open, allowing people to leave, and she wasn't surprised when a good number of people left.

Diggle, Jones, Vance, Arthur, Ron and Ginny Weasley, Fletcher, they all left. Lara hadn't been surprised that not all of the Weasleys had no balls to fight, but she was delighted when the more intelligent members of that moronic family had stayed, proving without a doubt that no matter what their mother may've been she had been the driving force behind the family. Arthur was a weakling, not that Lara was surprised. Bill, Charlie, Fred and George, on the other hand, were geniuses, Bill had been Head boy in his time, a curse breaker, Charlie was good at taming dragons, Fred and George were pranking geniuses with perverse, devious little minds. Their standing up to their pathetic father made it clear to Lara they had minds of their own, something that made Lara cheery for days.

The two dimensional flexibility of the magical world made it virtually impossible for them to actually make choices, and think for themselves.

Lara hoped that future generations of Weasleys came from these boys, the others were evolutionary dead ends. But Lara had other fish to fry. She would deal with the Order's many and various problems later. One step at a time.

* * *

It was one of the last death eater camps left, all the others had been destroyed, but that didn't mean that there weren't issues with the camp. There were many that wanted to leave, but their master's will, and use of the master dark mark, made them stay.

But that didn't mean some of them didn't try to fight it. The Order of the Saint members - 3 American Aurors, 2 wiccan friends of Lara, 2 British Wizards, plus Lara and Bill. The American Aurors had been brought in as a favour and plea for help from Lara and Amelia Bones. The Aurors didn't know the full story of their leader, but already she'd won their respect.

The Wiccans, on the other hand, did know the story. The Wiccans and Lara Taylor, sometimes known as Potter, went back a very, very long way. The Wiccans, led by Prudence Halliwell, had taught and shown Lara how to brew incredibly powerful potions, and do things with magic Merlin and the Founders would never be able to come up with, or make derivatives, in a million years. Lord Voldemort had never learnt, or gotten, the hang of the magical arts of the Wiccans. Prudence had joined Lara's order on the condition that she forgave her parents, and made sure the magical world left her alone.

The idea of forgiving her parents had been a point of contention between the two women for years. 3 years ago Lara would never have considered walking back into the mansion, and forgiving the two Potters. But now, things had changed a lot. Whether or not she would forgive them, Lara didn't know. Prudence didn't know either, but she disliked seeing the pain in Lara's eyes when she saw parents with children.

The American Aurors had been told that Lara was a leader of a local group of guerrillas that used different tactics and techniques to fight the dark lord and his followers. Lara had known she would need to make bloody good tactics to keep them, that was one of the various reasons Lara had worked hard on rebuilding the Order in the first place. Dumbledore's tactics would hardly impress the aurors of another country, the American Aurors were renowned for their high training and lethal force, their reputation alone kept the peace. But the Americans were not complacent, unlike some people, they were aware that some people changed their tactics, their aims. They knew they had to observe, and to learn.

Lara knew that the introduction of the Americans would affect the balance of power in the Order, something Lara knew would happen when she brought in the foreigners. The British were so used to working within their own country, it was remarkably rare that they didn't team up with others from different countries.

Moody had made fast friends with one of them - another man, Roman Aloe, an Auror that had been a veteran for over 34 years. Roman may not be scarred, but he was incredibly tough, and his paranoia was roughly equal to Moody's.

Moody had spoken to him, " How did you meet her ?"

He was referring to Lara, of course, and Aloe knew that, " I met her when she saved the president from that demon. That incident made me take her in, I trained her. She knows everything I know, every duelling technique. She taught me a few tricks, dirty ones. How do you rate her ?"

Moody had thought hard on that, unaware that the subject of their discussion was observing this conversation, and was invisible with a technique not known to the magical world.

" She's certainly….inventive," Moody said cautiously, " She's good at fighting, she always fighting with ingenuity, but Lara doesn't use a wand to duel. Some wizards consider that an insult."

Aloe nodded, " But it also means she's not dependent on our weapons, besides, Lara IS a weapon."

That conversation warmed Lara's heart, it boded well for her plans for the Order to work well. She only hoped the others were open to it.

Lara looked at the group, who were invisible. In the old days the Order had used invisibility cloaks in order to spy and so on, but Lara wasn't so short sighted. Lady Saint didn't think much of invisibility cloaks; in combat they were liabilities, someone could trip, the enemy target might be able to see through them, and break their covers.

Lady Saint had reviewed all magical and non magical means of becoming invisible, and she came up with this. The cloaking field literally embedded people into subspace, something wizard kind had discovered centuries ago, but didn't do anything about. Lara had used her ingenuity to create an invisibility method without potion, cloak, charm…this version was powered by subspace itself.

The Order members were wearing a purple amulet with a black crystal in the centre, the crystal activated the field, and maintained the energy for the field. The members could see and speak to one another, but no one would hear or see them.

" Ready ?" she asked.

The members nodded, the aurors readying their wands. Bill moved forward, adjusting his amulet to let him access the wards. It didn't take long to bring them down, they were relatively simple, but Lara stopped him.

" Wait !" Lara whispered fiercely, " There's a trap in the ward structure. There's an alarm thread."

Bill looked at the area the wards were built into, " How do we get through ?"

Lara thought about that, then she came to a decision, " We can route the thread into the muggle repelling wards, that way the thread will be unbroken."

Bill nodded and got to work. Lara helped him as best he could. Whilst she was an expert on ward breaking, she wasn't a genius at it. She was able to create wards of remarkable power, but that didn't mean that every ward could be broken by her.

It took Bill 5 minutes to break the wards, by that time the Order was ready. When the ward barrier had a gap the party moved in, the camp wasn't very big. But the size didn't matter, not for what Lara had in mind. She wanted to see how this new group would do with the Americans helping her. If they could work on one little virtually insignificant death eater camp then they could work on anything. Lady Saint prepared her daggers, whilst she was proficient with guns she didn't really like using them. Guns were discouraging, she preferred knives and stabbing weapons.

She looked at the others, the Aurors were readying their wands, their minds filling with ideas for incantations, duelling moves, tactics and ideas. The Wiccans were readying their own spells and vanquishing potions. Bill, whilst not a fighter, was preparing as well. Lara favoured him with an encouraging smile.

" Follow my lead," she ordered, cancelling her invisibility field. When she was fully visible, she grabbed the nearest death eater, making him cry out in alarm. She silenced him and slit his throat. As soon as he dropped to the ground, the others decloaked as well, which was just as well when the other death eaters appeared. Prudence and two of her friends threw some of the vanquishing potions, just as two of the Aurors - Lara didn't know which ones - fired off their own spells. One used a stunning spell - Lara would need to speak to the order again when she reran the recording she was making of this attack, and empathise once more that stunning spells would just mean that they would have more enemies too fight. That was unacceptable.

The other auror, on the other hand, had brain cells and actually blew one of his enemies heads off. Lara moved quickly herself, she flipped through the air, and threw Belle at one of the death eaters. It went right through the mouth and out the other end. Choking to death, the death eater struggled to breath before it - Lara couldn't tell what the sex of her victim was, and frankly she didn't care. She summoned Belle back to her, and went to find more enemies. More than once Lara came across death eaters fighting as hard as they could against their enemies, she could tell their actions were because of panic; the wand users they were fighting they could understand, they'd been taught how to use wands all their lives, but the Wiccans didn't have access to wands. They didn't need them either, they used their wandless powers; more than one death eater found themselves hurled across the camp until their bones broke.

But the wiccans hurled vials of vanquishing potion at the death eaters. Lara grinned in delight that these people hadn't changed a bit.

Moody hobbled over to her to report, " We've destroyed half the camp, we've rescued some muggles who were used as fucktoys."

Lara nodded, " Take them to the healing base to be healed, make sure their memories are wiped."

Moody nodded, he was about to turn away when he asked her, " What's that they're hurling at them ?" he asked curiously pointing at the remaining death eaters being killed by the vials of potion.

Lara gestured for him to come under cover, " Its called vanquishing potion. Wiccans find themselves dealing with evil spirits, warlocks, demons. The potion reacts to evil, its like chemicals reacting to others. The potion is designed for good purposes, it reacts dangerously to evil."

Moody frowned at Lara, and decided to learn more about Lara. There was so much about Lara no one knew about, but Mad eye didn't know how the girl would react if he probed too deeply.

" How do you know them anyway ?" Moody asked.

Lara knew that Moody was digging for information, but didn't see any harm in telling him, " I met them when I was in America. I was learning magical arts, America has one of the most diverse magical cultures on Earth. I met Prue, she took me in, she taught me a lot about magic and life. She was like a mother to me. At the time I didn't show any appreciation."

* * *

New of the Order of the Saint's first counterattack on the death eaters reached every media centre in Magical Britain, the Ministry was given the full story and the news of the death eaters and who they'd been touched the pages of the prophet.

The outcry that some of the public gave at some of the names was staggering, that the public didn't bother to know their friends better was something that horrified and stunned the public even more.

At Potter manor everyone was tucking into a hearty breakfast, at least until Prue came rushing in holding a newspaper. Lily frowned at her, but said nothing. She knew that Lara shared a more motherly daughter relationship with this woman, but Lily knew that she had no right to judge her.

Prue seemed horrified, " Lara, have you seen this ?"

Lara looked up from her cereal, " Seen what ?"

Prue thrust the paper into her surrogate daughters hand, " Read this."

Lara looked at it but didn't unfold it, " What the hell is this all about ?"

" Just read it Lara."

Lara unfolded the newspaper and read the article. Then her eyes widened and her teeth gritted in anger. Lily and James, Emma, Dan and Hermione watched stunned as Lara's anger mounted visibly. Lara's hands clenched on the paper. Hermione saw it was an American newspaper.

Lara screamed in rage, throwing the pieces aside. She looked angrily at Prue, who looked just as angry.

" How could they do this ? After what that _**bitch **_did to Michael…." Lara spat trailing off.

Prudence threw her hands up, " The goddess only knows."

" Excuse us," James interrupted, " But what is going on ? We're trying to eat breakfast, and you come storming in and give my daughter a newspaper that set her off. What's happening ?"

" Toni Tiglon," Lara snarled.

All three of the Grangers gasped in shock, but the Potters didn't understand what was happening.

" Whose Toni Tiglon ?" Lily asked.

The question was directed at the Grangers, and Lara, but Prudence answered, " Toni Tiglon is a criminal, like others she hides behind a veneer of respectability."

" She comes from a family of crooks." Lara broke in at that point, she eyes gleaming dangerously, " the Tiglons built their family business and fortune on smuggling originally. But they've taken on other enterprises; prostitution, assassination, mercenary business, bank robberies, art fraud…but Toni built her empire on drug smuggling, plus art fraud."

" I was aware of the Tiglon family, their reputation for ruthlessness, but I didn't pay them any mind. At least until one of Toni's dealers gave the brother of one of my friends from Salem's some drugs. I was still a student there myself. When I traced it to her, I was furious…."


	24. Chapter 24 The Downfall of Toni Tiglon

**I was inspired to write this chapter by an episode of **_**Return of the Saint, **_**the rest of the chapter is mine, and mine alone. **

**The Downfall of Toni Tiglon. **

" _Michael Ashe was the brother of a close friend. He was only 10, a muggle, but his sister was a witch. I don't know why he started doing hard drugs. Jealousy, perhaps ? I don't know. But I know one thing, it cost him his life…"_

13 year old Lara Taylor was watching anxiously as she watched the Ashe family surround Michael, her friend Amanda was crying hysterically as he died. Lara, although not a family member, was allowed to be here, but she didn't want to be.

Lara hated watching death coming too someone like this. Drug addiction ? Since when was Michael a drug addict ? Lara knew that you needed to have a regular income, where the fuck did Michael get his cash from ?

But the most important question, at least to Lara, was who was responsible for this. Lara promised herself, on Michaels' grave, she would make the bastards pay. Lady Saint was in the works, but Lara was ready and training herself, mentally, physically and magically.

Soon, Michael just died, after 3 days of fighting, he just simply...stopped.

The doctor came over, " I'm sorry, we've done everything we could."

Mr Ashe was holding his distraught wife, " We know, thank you doctor."

The doctor nodded, but Lara stopped him, " Excuse me doctor, but can you answer a few questions ?"

He nodded, and Lara continued, " I know that drug addiction can cause…..deaths, but I held Michael before the ambulance arrived. I noticed the number of needle marks on his arms, and there weren't many. How can he die from such a limited dosage ?"

The doctor closed his eyes, " I probably will get in trouble with the cops, but this isn't an isolated case."

Lara read the newspapers, and knew that there were a number of deaths related to drugs.

" The drug deaths ?" she whispered.

Lara took the doctor and led him out of the room. In the corridor, Lara and the doctor carried on with their conversation.

" The cocaine he used is somehow impure, almost as though the…scum," he took control of his emotions with great effort. " Didn't care about the dangers inherent, and just….gave it to them."

Lara leant against the wall, " Has the police bothered to tell you about their investigation ?"

" No, they haven't."

Lara nodded, and walked back inside to the grieving family. A plan was forming in her mind.

* * *

" _I knew that the police would remove all evidence, so I had to move fast. I went back to the house and took the vial of cocaine. There was a fresh one, and the police hadn't found it yet. I moved as quickly as I could. I took it to Prue's, back then Prue and her family were looking after me. My guardians. They were the ones to take me in after I arrived in America, they supported me, taught me a lot about magic. I was, and will forever, be grateful to them for the skills I got. One of which was scrying…"_

Lara and Prue were standing over the table, a scrying crystal poised over the map of the city. Prue looked at Lara, who was watching the crystal with an expression that Prue couldn't identify. Lara kept her feelings and thoughts to herself. Whilst Prue was concerned by the upbringing Lara had had, the fact her own parents favoured their son more than their daughter, the fact Lara just wanted to be left alone…..

Finally the crystal dropped on a spot on the map….

Lara had wanted to find the source of the drugs, and she found them.

* * *

The place the drugs were filtered throughout the city was basically a big office block. Whatever Lara thought about them at that moment, she had to admit that this place was the last place anyone - police or district attorney would ever expect to find a drug trafficking headquarters. But that didn't mean Lara wasn't going to make them pay, the law be damned.

Using an invisibility field she sneaked in, even though it was late at night she didn't want to take any chances. Lara, or Lady Saint, as she was just calling herself, moved like a wraith through the building, going into offices and checking out the files. She found nothing.

But that changed when she went down to the massive room where the drugs were actually sent out. It was like a warehouse, really, with row upon row of shelves containing boxes. Lara opened one and found it full of packets of a white powder.

" Cocaine." she whispered, putting the packet back inside the box.

Inside the box, her luck changed, inside the box was a piece of paper. Lara clicked her fingers, cancelling out the field around her, and giving her some light. A ball of blue light appeared between her fingers. Damn, she really needed a torch, but then again she hadn't seen anyone at all.

Lara looked at the paper carefully, examining it. It was just one of those bureaucratic pieces of paper, but there was something on it that caught her eye.

Two T's, the company symbol of Toni Tiglon.

* * *

" _Finding out Toni Tiglon had sent that box of drugs may be considered by some to be a plant. But it wasn't, I checked a few other boxes. They held the same thing, the sheets of paper were basically invoices. I kept a couple, for the police. "_

Lara took the camera hanging from her shoulder, and made sure the infra red film inside was prepped, when she was certain it was okay, she took the pictures, making sure to include the Tiglon symbol, which was everywhere now she noticed.

The building, she later discovered, was one of her many business outlets. The Tiglons were a respected family, but the problem was no one knew how they obtained their wealth. Now that question was answered. Their respectability would dry up like a river bed in Africa.

It wasn't just drugs that were stored here, there were machine guns, ammunition, other weapons. Illegal bits and pieces here and there. Lara shook her head, wondering how this getting better and better, she'd been expecting anything but this. She couldn't help but shake her head at the stupidity of keeping this stuff here, then she realised that it was just a storage facility. The main industrial area was still yet to be found.

Lara was just getting into her stride when a meaty paw slammed ontop of her shoulder. Lara was jolted back by a massive security guard. The man said something as he snatched her camera away, but Lara kicked off from him, snatching from the inside of her pocket a taser. Triggering it, she electrocuted the guard, who dropped like a block of granite on the floor.

Lara picked up her camera and checked it for any damage. There wasn't any.

Looking down at the stunned guard, she said politely, " Thank you."

* * *

" _I had my lead, my proof it was Tiglon. Another search found a number of addresses and telephone numbers for the dealers. I took that as well, and gave some of the evidence to the police. It was a media circus, the outcry against Tiglon had been colossal. I sent a letter to the police, signing it as Lady Saint, the film was not developed, so it wasn't faked. It took time, but they searched the place, investigated and arrested the dealers. Within a week, I'd pretty much shattered Tiglon's plans and businesses into little pieces. But I wasn't finished with her. I wanted her to pay."_

" _For the next month, Tiglon found herself being burgled. As I said before one of the Tiglon's big businesses involved art fraud, I managed to find a massive amount of art, including forgeries Tiglon was trying to pass off. I gave the address to the police, and mentioned something was suspicious there…"_

The police cars surrounded the apartment block as they searched through the building. They came away with a number of paintings, both genuine, stolen, and forged. The apartment belonged, surprisingly enough, to Tiglon's brother. He was led away in cuffs, screaming like a little kid.

No one noticed the black haired girl with the green eyes, watching with emotionless eyes. Her plan was being carried out.

* * *

" _I'd taken everything away from Tiglon, her brother, framing the useless bastard hadn't been difficult. I'd exposed her businesses, showing them for what they really were. But I still had a lot to do…."_

Toni Tiglon lived in a massive manor, it was considered a fortress. But that meant nothing to Lady Saint. The mysterious thief made the businesses woman slash criminal genius, or what she thought was genius, terrified. How did she manage to sneak into places without anyone knowing or noticing ?

What Tiglon didn't know was that Lady Saint was right in front of her, clad in an invisibility field, silencing charms and other charms for stealth all over her body. Lara read the woman's paranoid mind, she put aside all the vindictive thoughts Tiglon had for her, they were pretty much the same anyway so there was no actual point, instead, she spent most of the time rooting through the brain of her enemy, and looked for anything she could use. It was amazing the sort of things you could find if you did this.

It seemed that Toni had a number of things hidden inside a vault deep in her manor, things her family had stolen for centuries - art works, antiques, religious artefacts and so on. But that wasn't all, she had a little boy in the manor, a child she'd picked up somewhere. She was abusing him. Angrily, Lara stunned her and called the police. They could handle this better than she could.

* * *

Back in the present….

Lara looked into the eyes of her parents, " Anticlimactic, I know, but it was still preparing myself to become the person I am today."

" So," Lily whispered, " this Toni Tiglon, she was your first….?" Lily couldn't find the right word.

" Victim ? Target ?" Lara said, shrugging. " It doesn't matter, nor does it change what she did. Through her, Michael died. He fought for his life for 3 days before he died. Toni was sent down for murder, art theft and fraud, rape of little boys and other children, apparently she got off on blood and screams."

" Her brother, I think his crimes, I was paying more attention to his sister after all, were smaller scale than Toni's, but he was sent down for a couple of years. I don't pay him any attention. But I did leave a message for him…"

Mark Tiglon walked through the corridors back to his apartment, thankfully it was no longer a police investigation. When he got to the door and opened it, he stopped in horror as he took in what the room had. The walls, an immaculate white, had been decorated with what looked like a stickwoman with a skirt and halo.

Lady Saint. Lady Saint had been here, Tiglon realised, terror filling his insides. Everyone in the underworld was now frightened of the thief now. She'd made a reputation for herself after she took down his sister, one of the largest figures in organised crime, but this….

Lady Saint had begun robberies, framing crooks and having them locked away. Mark saw that there was another message, a written one;

" Tiglon, I will be watching you…. Beware !"

The next day, Mark Tiglon left for Australia, and gave up crime altogether.

* * *

Back in the present.

Lara looked at her parents, then down at the newspaper. They could see the face of Toni Tiglon, sharp featured, ugly, but it was the expression on her face.

She was smiling, a smug smile.

" I'll get you, bitch. If it kills me, I'll get you." Lara whispered to herself. But everyone heard her.


	25. Chapter 25 Enough is Enough

**Enough is enough. **

" Hey," Lily said cautiously to her daughter, who was sitting on her bed, gazing into space. The newspaper with the picture of Toni Tiglon in her knees. Lara's green eyes glinting with rage that was barely suppressed.

Lara looked up into her mother's face, " Hi," she whispered back.

Lily walked uncertainly into her daughter's room, and with good reason. Lara had been in rage since the news that Toni Tiglon had gotten out of prison, as a result everyone, be they her own parents, Hermione and her parents, the Order members, anyone, Lara would erupt with fury at the smallest and most moronic act.

Lara watched as her mother entered the room, her face and body language showing just how uncertain she really was. It was ironic, really. Once upon a time her mother was up there with Toni Tiglon as the women Lara hated with every fibre of her being, and now, more than ever, she wanted her biological mother. Lily sat down on the bed, her eyes unblinking, almost as if she expected her daughter to be a wild cat that would swipe her with its claws.

But Lara didn't move. Lily didn't know whether that was a good omen or a bad one, she decided to find out what she could do.

" How're you holding up ?" Lily asked quietly, inwardly she cursed herself for asking such a ridiculous question. But Lara took it was surprising mildness. Lily was surprised; her daughter had an explosive and violent temper, probably due to the way she'd raised herself.

Lara looked down at the newspaper picture in her knees, the arrogant smug expression on Tiglon's face pissing her off once more.

" Every time I look at this picture, I see Michael's body, lying on a sterile bed in an equally sterile room. It's not just Michael, it's the lives this…this bitch has destroyed," Lara jumped off the bed, her body energy too hyper to remain sitting still for long. Lara folded her arms under her armpits, and paced up and down. Lily took that to mean Lara was trying to shake off her frustration.

" I remember Michael mother, he was so gifted. He could play a clarinet," Lara looked over at Lily, " A clarinet, he could probably conduct a full orchestra with his eyes alone. Me, I can hardly play a few notes on a harmonica ! If he hadn't succumbed to jealousy over his sister….he might still be alive, and I wouldn't have bothered with Tiglon."

For a few moments neither woman spoke, but Lara broke the silence, " When I was at Salems, I met dozens of witches and wizards who came from muggle families." Lara looked at her mother, and Lily, who was used to seeing a headstrong daughter, was shocked to see tears in Lara's eyes.

" Those same kids, they put up with their parents, and their families. Brothers, sisters. They told me that their families are often….nervous around them. I asked them clearly, some told me to fuck off and leave them alone. Their body language said it all."

Lara rubbed her eyes, " I wonder, how many muggle born students have to endure a family member doing something as suicidal as Michael did ?"

Lily looked down at her hands, she desperately wanted to help Lara. Honestly she did, but she knew exactly how Lara was feeling.

Growing up Lily had been loved and adored, not just at home, but at school, and earning her elder sister's jealousy and contempt. Lily had tried to tone it down, but her parents would never let her. That led to lots of grief for both sisters. Then Lily had discovered her magical abilities, and it grew worse. Far worse. Instead of being frightened, instead of calling her " freak " like her sister had started too, her parents had been overjoyed, proud that they had a witch in their family. Petunia hadn't, she hadn't hidden her growing loathing of her own sister, and her own self loathing grew as well. Petunia was smart herself, she was just so full of her own insecurities that she just didn't bother to improve herself. Worse, it extended to the fact Petunia married a man who was an arrogant, bigoted thug with the brain the size of a peanut, and that marriage was full of holes. Petunia was one of those stupid brainless women that believed every little pop quiz in magazines. Petunia thought that her marriage to Vernon Dursely was a match made in heaven. Lily knew her own relationship with James hadn't been like that. Secretly she'd liked him, but she'd thought James was a big kid. That changed when his parents were killed by death eaters. James had been distraught. He's literally collapsed on top of her in sixth year and cried his heart out. Then they'd started going out, their bond was strong, especially since Severus had shown his true colours. Then the twins were born, then ….the prophecy she hated with every fibre of her being.

Lily had hoped, before she knew the prophecy, when she'd discovered she was expecting twins, that she could avoid the mistakes of the past. But when Voldemort attacked the Potters years ago, and Dumbledore had announced, stupidly, that Harry was the child of the prophecy Lily had forgotten her pledge that she would never allow what happened between her and Petunia to occur again.

But this time it had been infinitely worse. She and James had paraded Harry around, and he loved every minute of it. Lara, on the other hand, was ignored and neglected. If Petunia had thought she'd had it bad, then she was mistaken. At least Mom and Dad had given her some attention. Lara had received next to none.

Lily stared at her daughter, the way her body language said she wanted to be hugged, but didn't know how to do so broke Lily's heart.

" What're you planning on doing, about Tiglon, I mean ?" Lily asked quietly.

Lara sighed, " I've been thinking about that," she admitted, " But, right now - " she shook her head, " I need to deal with Voldemort and what's left of his band. Toni can wait."

Lily looked down at the picture of the woman, and saw why Lara hated her so much. The arrogance on that face….it was reminiscent of Lucius Malfoy.

" How do you think she got out ?"

The question infuriated Lara, but her ire wasn't aimed at her mother, " Well she didn't escape, her smugness in that picture proves that. I think a lawyer bailed her out. Someone very good, very expensive."

Lily didn't want to hear it, but she needed to find out, " What will you do to her ?"

Lara didn't answer that question. She didn't know herself.

* * *

_Diagon Alley. _

Lara walked through Diagon Alley, the place had been heavily damaged during her fight with Bellatrix Lestrange. Lara hated the term " duel," it implied honour in combat. Lestrange had been a psycho bitch, honour meant nothing to her. Lara had, on the other hand, her own interpretation of honour. It could go any way. In the case of Lestrange, it meant having a tour through the windows of the shops.

Lara had fully compensated those shops, including the ones that had been damaged during the early stages of the fight. It was too small to be called a battle, too senseless to be called a skirmish. Lady Saint couldn't work out how Dumbledore and his ilk termed every incident with the death eaters as a battle.

Lara wasn't doing anything, wasn't anticipating anything, but that was on the outside. On the inside, Lara's senses were as sharp as a razor honed by lasers.

That was why the surprise attack failed.

A man wrapped in a faded gaudy cloak and hood suddenly got close to her, and whipped out his wand. He fired a stunning spell at her. Everyone screamed and ran to get out of the way, leaving Lara to her fate.

Those watching expected the girl to fall to the ground.

Nothing happened, the spell impacted on a shield. Lara's face was emotionless. The hooded wizard took off his cloak and cowl, revealing the bearded face of Albus Dumbledore. Lara took in the face, the only resemblance between this man and the Dumbledore who'd stalked her was the beard and the robes, plus the half moon spectacles. But even those were slightly mucky, the facial hair was tangled and greasy. His eyes were like chips of blue rock.

Lara didn't say a word, she had nothing she particularly wanted to say to the man since she'd warned him that all she wanted was to be left alone. The old fool had paid the price for not listening to her requests.

But Dumbledore, it seemed, had plenty to say to her.

" Today, you die as the dark witch you are." Dumbledore said, keeping a discreet eye on the crowd, hoping to hear some kind of applause, hoping that the people now saw Lara Potter as the dark witch he knew her to be. He was in for a shock; everyone had applauded her for what she'd done to the death eaters, whilst Dumbledore's name was now cursed.

Instead of adoration, Dumbledore received a few curses from the crowd.

Lara didn't do anything, she just stood there, a look of complete and utter boredom on her lovely face. But her body language said, to those who could read it, that she was prepared for anything. She just watched as Dumbledore tried to banish the tomatoes that were conjured out of thin air to hit him in the face or right on his nose.

When Dumbledore had managed to repel the tomatoes and set up a shield that would stop anyone from doing it again and distract him from his task, Lara decided to stop them. It wasn't a favour, she just wanted to get this over and done with without problems from the crowds.

" Alright, enough !" Lara bellowed. Every witch and wizard, young or old, stopped what they were doing. Lara carried on, " Thanks for helping, but I can't fight this dark wizard with you getting in the way. If I were you, I'd take cover."

As everyone got away from the scene, Dumbledore spoke, this time his voice was cold with fury, " How dare you call me a dark wizard, you are the one whose dark !"

" Am I ?" Lara said, in a fake puzzled tone, " If I was as dark as you say I am, then why would I leave everyone alive in this alley ? Answer me Dumbledore, give me that wisdom from someone who self appointed himself as the greatest wizard in the world."

Dumbledore's chest heaved as he tried to control his rage, but Lara wasn't finished taunting him yet. She wanted him angry enough to provoke him into making that one fatal mistake.

" You call me dark, what do you call yourself ? A man who takes children, forces them to drink a potion that de ages them, then force yourself upon them. There's a word for that, old man. Rape. Then again you also steal family money from children after you've murdered their families." Lara carried on.

" You're a thief, I don't see any reason to justify myself." Dumbledore said triumphantly, hoping to show the magical community just who their " saviour " was. But Lara didn't care about the public like Dumbledore did, she just wanted what was best for herself.

" You call me a thief, what do you call yourself ? A man who gets himself named legal guardian of children whose parents have mysteriously died, then you steal their family monies. I am a thief, but do I hide behind a façade ? No, I'm proud of my so called crimes. Unlike you, I don't steal from kids, " Lara stated, an infuriating smirk on her face.

Dumbledore was frustrated by the lack of aid he was getting and decided to get down to business. He started by sending a few elementary spells at Lara, which made her feel insulted.

He was still treating her like a kid.

When the first stunning spell approached, Lara gathered her powers and vanished. Dumbledore and the people were surprised, but those with a grain of logic in their heads recalled how Lara had used this tactic before, when she'd been dealing with Bellatrix Lestrange.

Dumbledore remembered it as well, but he was slightly late in his realisation. A hand slapped on his shoulder, making the old wizard swing round. The sight of Albus Dumbledore being sent flying into a pile of dragon manure was too funny not to laugh at. Lady Saint advanced on him, the slight pain in her hand was being ignored.

Dumbledore staggered to his feet, he'd been sent down to the ground when the pile collapsed. Dumbledore hastily spat out the bit of manure in his mouth. It didn't hit even the tip of the advancing Lady Saint's boots. Lara stopped and waited for Dumbledore to brush himself down and cast a few well chosen cleaning charms over his body. Dumbledore was rather put out by the rough treatment. He'd hoped that bringing down Lara Potter would be as easy as casting a lumos spell, but instead she'd shown her preference for fighting like a muggle. Well, he'd have to up the stakes.

Bringing his wand to bear on Lara, he fired a curse at Lara. Since Dumbledore had opted for a silently cast spell Lara had no way of knowing precisely what spell had been fired. But she didn't wait to find out. Deciding to show this old has been that she, Lady Saint, was also able to cast silently, Lara clicked her fingers and a block of granite appeared directly in front of her.

When the curse impacted on the rock, it blew the block to pieces, when the dust died down the crowd saw that Lara had vanished again.

Dumbledore was now, metaphorically, foaming at the mouth. This was going too far.

" Running like a coward wont help you Potter, I'll find you and kill you !" he shouted.

Lara's voice made him jump as she whispered into his ear, " Not before I kill you, old man."

Before Dumbledore could react, he was again knocked off his feet by a spinning high kick. The pain he felt from his jaw made him stagger back. Before he could recover, he received another kick, then another, then another. Stunned, he felt a pair of hands grab the front of his robes, then his dazed and confused eyes caught Lara Potter's head race towards him.

WHAM ! He smelt a scent of apple as he was head butted right in the forehead and his nose was virtually crushed by the impact.

Lara ignored the daze that always came from a head butt, and, keeping her grip on Dumbledore's robes, she punched the old wizard in the face. Dumbledore was dazed with agony, he sank to the ground. Again.

Lara let go of him, then backed away. She looked down and spotted Dumbledore's wand. She handed it to him, " Here," she said to his surprise, " You wanted to fight me with magic. I'm giving you that chance."

Lara had no choice but to wait for the old wizard to stagger to his feet, to say Dumbledore looked terrible was an understatement. He looked worse than he had before he'd attacked Lara in public, his face was bloodied, his spectacles were unbroken, leading Lara to assume correctly that the wily old wizard had realised that they might be damaged in the future.

His posture was absolutely terrible, he looked wobbly and looked like he was on the verge of collapsing in the middle of the alley.

But, somehow, he was able to maintain his balance. Lara had never seen a wizard try so hard too look dignified than she had right that moment. Considering the bruises on his face, the blood pooled on his face, the fact his robes were old and wrinkled, Dumbledore looked more pitiful than respectful.

Lara ignored the way the old man looked, it would hardly matter, and clapped her hands together. When she pulled them apart, both hands were glowing a white colour. Dumbledore and the crowd were stunned by the wandless magic, but they were more surprised when a ball was formed in the magical energy.

Lara flicked her hands in an almost unnoticed movement, and the ball was released. It shot right across the distance between Lara and Dumbledore. Dumbledore, because he had no idea what the ball was and what it could do, hastily erected his most powerful and endurable shield. The ball impacted on the shield, shattering it into little bits. The ball impacted on Dumbledore's chest, electrocuting him with over 456 volts of electricity. It was lucky it wasn't near his heart. But it was enough for him to drop to the ground in pain.

Dumbledore, again, staggered to the ground, shaking from the after effects of the electric shock therapy he'd just received.

Lara waited for him, then decided to use spells that wouldn't make him fall to the ground in pain.

Dumbledore brandished his wand and feeling all the hatred and desire to kill, yelled, " Avada Kedavra."

The killing curse rushed towards Lara, who, at the last moment conjured another block, only this one was made of tungsten steel. The curse disintegrated the metal block at once.

When it was clear, Lara re - emerged, fury clear in her face, " Ok, you want to play rough, I'll play rough with you." she growled.

Beams of lightning shot out of her hands and the tips of her fingers, impacting on the surprised Dumbledore, who realised just as the pure agony reached his nerves and travelled too the pain receptors of his brain, that he'd underestimated Lara Potter yet again. It was clear she was more powerful than he was, and more violent than he'd surmised.

The whole alley was watching justice being meted out on Dumbledore, hardly anyone felt any sympathy for the old wizard, considering the amount of damage he'd caused.

* * *

Hardly anyone noticed the Potters and Grangers appearing via portkey. Both families pushed themselves to the front to watch the proceeds.

Hermione Granger watched dispassionately as the man who'd raped her so many times in the past for his own amusement was tortured by her close friend. She was tempted to take out her wand and curse him badly. Hermione had discovered the bat bogey hex used by Ginny Weasley, and many of its more….unpleasant cousins. Hermione drew her wand, aimed it and fired a spell. She was followed by another spell, fired by Lily herself.

Like Hermione, Lily watched as the man she'd once, once, looked up to, was tortured and she didn't lift a finger to help. Unlike Hermione, Lily had other reasons to hate Dumbledore, the rapes he'd caused her and her fellow muggleborns aside. This man had helped tear her family apart for his greater good. She took out her wand, and watched as Hermione fired her curse.

Lara sensed both spells rushing towards Dumbledore and stopped what she was doing. The curses hit Dumbledore, and their effects were interesting. Hermione had used the rat bogey hex, and Lily had used a curse that made Dumbledore's skin puff up with blood, making him look like an angry red balloon, the effect was so striking that Lara caught herself thinking that Dumbledore could pop with a well placed prick from a pin.

Lara decided at that point that justice was done, and clicked her fingers. Dumbledore took a deep breath, panting like a dog. He'd never felt that much pain in his life. But Lara wasn't finished. She fired a curse at Dumbledore with her wandless magic and Dumbledore, without his wand, was unable to stop it. It impacted on his groin.

Dumbledore threw back his head at the sound of something being crushed, and he screamed. He screamed so loud that Lara wondered, truly wondered, if the last achievement of the old lunatic wizard was too be the first male to break the sound barrier with his vocal chords. Albus Dumbledore had been castrated.

The old wizard collapsed slowly to the ground, tears running down his face, a soundless scream coming from his now ruined vocal chords.

Lara took a deep breath, then snapped her head in another direction.

* * *

Severus Snape had been watching as this vicious and unpredictable woman defeated the man the dark lord had made him spy on. Snape knew he had to get out of here, Lara Potter had signed his death warrant, letting the Order know he was fair game. His role and cover as a spy was beyond ruined.

Any thoughts he had of revenge had been flushed down the drain after he'd watched this fight. The Dark lord had ordered him to follow Dumbledore, when the old fool had found him and made him shelter him from the Aurors. The Dark lord had used that to his advantage. But Dumbledore was no longer the enemy the dark lord had once known, instead of focusing his attention on Riddle, Dumbledore had turned his eyes on Lara Potter. The one person the two wizards now hated and feared.

Snape had winced when Dumbledore had screamed as his genitals had been crushed, like marbles in a vice. The greasy headed death eater watched as blood started to pool around the area, Dumbledore seemed catatonic in his agony. Snape was just about to leave, when the Potter bitch shot him in the stomach, next in the heart and lungs.

Severus Snape, arrogant, hateful, with an overwhelming belief in his own superiority, died.


	26. Chapter 26 Execution via Veil

Lara didn't need to do anything with Dumbledore, mostly because the old wizard was immobilised, his balls had been exploded, and he was injured all over his body. Snape was dead, shot. The greasy bastard had been the one that brought Lara into all this shit, so he had to pay the penalty.

Lara stood aside as the Aurors dragged Dumbledore away. She looked towards her parents and left with them. Her work was almost done.

Albus Dumbledore was suspended using mobility charms, hovering him directly towards his fate, the veil of death. In the crowd watching hardly anyone had tears in their eyes, they watched as the man that had pulled the wool over their eyes for decades was lead towards his fate. It had been decided over the course of a week.

Dumbledore couldn't believe this was happening, but he blamed everyone but himself. In the crowd was a number of people the old wizard recognised at once; his victims. Many were muggleborns he had indulged himself in over the years, other people were the children he'd stolen from over the years. Thanks to the goblins, their wealth was fully restored, but they still had a look in their eyes, a look of dejection, of pain from being poor, alone. But Dumbledore felt nothing for them.

No remorse,

No guilt.

No sorrow for what he'd done.

Then Dumbledore focused his gaze on the last group of people, the Potters and their muggle friends, the Grangers, along with that filthy mudblood know it all. But terror seized his chest at the eyes of Lara Potter, Lady Saint. The bitch was looking at him, her lips curled into a sneer. Any anger Dumbledore felt for her was forgotten when she held up something.

His wand.

Lara looked him in the eyes, like a snake or a cat preparing to strike. Then, without warning, snapped his wand. The mournful cry of a phoenix echoed throughout the room

Dumbledore screamed just as the aurors " escorting " him, his self important dignity forgotten, pushed him behind the veil of death.

* * *

Back in the land of the living, Lara held both parts of the wand. Holding both pieces of Dumbledore's wand, Lara lobbed them towards the veil, aided by the spell she cast. Lara watched with satisfaction as the wand pieces passed through the veil.

Amelia came up behind her, " Do you think we did the right thing ?"

Lara looked at her friend, noting Amelia's doubtful expression. " Do you think that Dumbledore's crimes should be ignored ? Do you think the ends justify the means ?"

Without giving Amelia the time to respond, Lara dragged her away. Emma Granger looked in curiosity as she did that.

* * *

" I wonder what they're talking about ?"

Lily shook her head, " Don't waste your time Emma, Lara wont say."

" Why not ?"

James sighed, " Lara and Amelia spent a lot of time the last few days discussing this in Lara's room. But the room was silenced. I think they were discussing this."

Hermione started to understand, " You mean that Lara was telling Madam Bones what to do with Dumbledore ?"

James shrugged, " Who can say ?"

* * *

" Why is it people ask me stupid things ?" Lara asked Amelia.

Amelia became defensive, " You might not know this but many in the public and the Ministry wanted Dumbledore in prison."

" I do know it. I'm not without sources of my own," Lara snapped angrily. It was true, Amelia knew that Lady Saint owned a network of agents in every community, magical and non magical. Amelia didn't know half of these agents and what they were instructed to do, but she knew that Lara was smart enough to have them.

Amelia reigned her temper in, knowing it wouldn't do any good.

Lara broke the silence, " You asked me just now about whether or not we did the right thing. The answer will always be yes. At least in my eyes. Do you know why ?"

Amelia shook her head.

" Because of those pictures. I've met dozens of paedophiles, child murders, serial rapists. They thought they'd get away with it because of the namby pamby slap on the wrist approach to justice. The brother of a friend died because of drug abuse. Vigilantism is part of my business. Business darling, " Lara said emphasising the word business.

" Albus Dumbledore may have carved a reputation for himself, made himself out to be this great man and leader of many. But deep down he was as rotten as a compost heap. Amelia, how would you feel if the Bones family legacy, Susan and everything you and your family have held dear for centuries, was suddenly ripped from you like that ?" Lara clicked her fingers.

Amelia couldn't believe Lara Taylor, Lady Saint, one of the few people in the world would ask that.

" How could you ask me that ? I'd kill them !" Amelia responded passionately, before realising she'd walked into a trap.

Lara nodded grimly, " Exactly. Amelia, I'm a thief, you know that, but do I hide it ? Do I go after kids and steal what they have, be it little or large ? No. I deal with the scum I call the ungodly, the drug dealers, the murderers, the corrupt. I'm proud of my so called crimes. Why ? Because I know no other way of life. I know only one tune. Dumbledore himself played a long game with the magical world, and he believed he was above the law. Overconfidence in himself and in himself lead too Fawkes breaking away from his control and giving me access to his dirty little habit. With Fawkes' held, I was able to expose Dumbledore and take control of the Order and remodel it into something different and something that was a far cry from the pathetic little excuse it was in the past. Dumbledore's arrogant conceit in himself worked against him again in Diagon Alley, he clearly thought he could overpower me and win. Look where that's gotten him."

Lara took a deep breath, " It wouldn't have mattered in the end. I had a plan to kill Dumbledore if you didn't throw him into the veil," she admitted. " I'll be in touch Amelia, it's time for me to go. There's still one other Dark lord left."

With that Lady Saint turned and walked away.


	27. Chapter 27 Cleaning up the death eaters

To Frenchfan, Lara isn't going to have a love interest. Mostly because there's hardly anyone who would fit her type.

I do intend to write a story called The Saint. It'll appear more or less…soon.

**Cleaning up the Death Eaters. **

The aftermath of Dumbledore's death was two fold. Many in the magical world were angry that Dumbledore hadn't simply been placed in Azkaban, the more hardcore members of the Order who'd left when Lady Saint took over had been the more vocal, their denial that Dumbledore had committed the crimes and making excuses for the man made Amelia sick.

The second fold came from Lord Voldemort himself. The Dark lord had stepped up his attacks, but Voldemort had underestimated his opponent again. Lara had had the Wiccan contingent of the Order track down the dark marks and wait until they were attacking their victims before they acted.

When the Wiccans started appearing more and more in places like Diagon Alley, the Ministry, places where Wizards and Witches frequented, they faced more and more curiosity and, in some cases, hostility. Wicca magic was different and more…natural than the magic that the wand users used. As a result many Wiccans faced the blind prejudices of the wizarding community of Britain, but it never occurred to them that they were facing people who could burn them down to a cinder in seconds.

One such encounter came at the hands of Percy Weasley. Percy was still working for the Ministry, and he wanted nothing more than to stop Amelia Bones from making a monumental mistake in allying herself with an inferior minority, which is what the bigots on the Wizengamot called the Wiccans. Percy didn't realise that his opinion, which he'd submitted to Amelia at least seven times in regard to the newly gazetted Order of the Saint and the presence of the Wiccans. One problem, Amelia Bones wasn't Cornelius Fudge, she wasn't thick, she was intelligent. And she told Percy to get out of her sight and stay out of it permanently.

Percy found a couple of Aurors who were both incredibly stupid and equally dim in every respect, they were typical of the British Wizarding world, they owed everything they had to their births. Pity their brains couldn't help, it would've saved a lot of trouble for them.

Percy had walked over to a café that three of the Wiccans were at, since they wore a badge with a variation of Lady Saint's logo on them people either left them alone or congratulated them for their work against the death eaters. But the Wiccans weren't as foolish as Percy thought. They knew that this world was different from their own, was more prejudiced and very touchy about things that they either wouldn't accept or understand. Understandably when Percy walked over to them, aurors in tow, they were prepared for battle.

In his most arrogant and pompous tone, Percy declared for all in the alley to hear, " You three are not welcome in the magical community of great Britain. You are hereby under arrest, pending trial and later time at Azkaban where you will be administered the Dementor's kiss."

The three Wiccans weren't affected, in fact one of them touched an amulet, which went unnoticed by the Ministry party. It was as clear as crystal that the three wand users were prepared for a fight, eager for it in fact, but they wouldn't give the upstarts what they wanted, but to their surprise the Wiccans went peacefully.

Percy had thought, stupidly, that he'd gotten away with his plan. But he was in for a wake up call that would punch him in the face.

With an arrogant sneer, he had the Wiccan's searched. If he'd expected wands or anything similar, he was startled when all that was found were a number of bottles containing some purple liquid. A few talismans and amulets were also found. Percy had touched one, and looked into the face of one of the Wiccans, a blond haired girl that looked around his sister Ginevra's age.

" Walking around with these is an automatic sentence in Azkaban."

" Harassing my friends is an automatic death sentence, or a kick in the face," a soft but painfully familiar voice whispered behind him. Percy had jumped, literally, in the air before recovering himself. He turned and his heart almost stopped, in fact, if it had, then it would've saved him from the agony he was about to suffer.

Lara Potter and Amelia Bones was standing behind him, both women quietly furious. Percy gulped, Potters eyes especially looked scary, they were glinting with rage that was barely suppressed. For the first time, Percy realised this was worse than looking in the eyes of a tiger or a dragon. Lara's next words filled him with horror.

" Give. Those. Potions. And. Amulets. Back. NOW !" Lara intoned, emphasising all seven words in that sentence and shouting out the last one. Percy jumped again, and fumbled about giving back the items he'd taken from the Wiccans. All three witches eyed the aurors and Percy with ice in their gazes. Lara looked them over, then back to Weasley.

" If I never see your face again, it'll be too soon." Lara hissed. Turning her gaze to the three Wiccans, her hardened expression softened, " Return to your patrol point, your relief will be starting in," she checked her watch, " 4 minutes."

The Wiccans nodded, and they orbed out.

Lara turned to face Percy Weasley, who looked like he was fighting the urge to collapse to the ground begging, or to simply run away. Neither of those ideas would've worked, Lara would've kicked him in the face if he'd begged at her feet, if he'd dared run off then she would hurl one of the polymer sticks in her concealed pocket at his feet, tripping the twat up.

Amelia broke the silence, " I warned you to leave Lara and her associates alone Weasley, what were you thinking ?"

Percy tried to stutter out a response, but Lara got there first. She delivered a kick to his head that snapped his neck upward and jarred his head. He staggered back, pain shooting through his head. The aurors tried to intervene, but Amelia got there first.

" You two have an appointment with Charlotte Pondweed, JUMP TO IT !" She bellowed.

Both aurors ran off, recalling only too well the way Amelia had handled the DMLE.

Lara had picked up Percy by his neck, fixing the terrified redhead with an expression which would've turned the gorgon into glass and shattered her into little bits. The effect it had on Percy was more devastating, the fool pureblood was trying hard not to piss himself.

Lara paid no heed, she was holding the waste of space by his neck. She didn't even slacken her grip on him, Lara trained hard. She could flush her magic into her muscles, but she rarely did that.

Lara leant in and whispered something into Percy's ear. Whatever it was it terrified the redhead. Then she let him go, but not before she punched him so hard his nose would need reconstruction.

Percy held his aching head, then looked up accidentally into the eyes of Amelia Bones.

This was not going to be good.

* * *

The Percy Weasley incident aside, Lara was able with the help of the Order to wipe out more of the death eaters, there were so few of them left that it was fairly effortless.

They also used the magical bombs Lara had devised to destroy their homes. There was no mercy for the death eaters, or their surviving relatives.

**A/N Sorry its short. But Chap. 28 will be longer and then the end will approach. As always reviews are welcome and wanted. **


	28. Chapter 28 The Message

" Sob, I've almost finished this story. " sniff " I hope you've enjoyed it.

Onwards, " sniffle" and " sob " upwards, as the actor said to the bishop.

**The Message. **

_He was a prisoner, trapped in his own head, his own mind. Lord Voldemort wasn't boasting when he claimed to be the most powerful and skilled in the mind arts. But he was trapped, locked in a nightmare. _

_He was running for his life, panting for breath, in a forest. The Dark lord had no idea what it was that he was running from, any idea of pride and a desire to fight back was far from his consciousness; he had no wand, no potions, nothing. Lord Voldemort was defenceless. _

_Voldemort was running so fast that he didn't notice the hunter. Not until he ran between two massive trees, making a length of cable taut and tripping him up by the ankles, slicing into his skin and muscles. But this cable was sharp, making him bleed instantly. Voldemort was stunned by the fall, the pain was shooting through his legs and into his brain. When he tried to stand up, the so called most powerful wizard in the world was unable to move properly. Any attempt at magic was rebuffed since he couldn't actually generate a spell. _

_It was infuriating. He, the most powerful wizard in the world !_

_Voldemort was roused from his pained thoughts by the sight of a booted foot snapping a stick, followed by a jungle green clad leg, closely followed by a body with a utility belt with bulging pouches. The woman, Voldemort could see the figure was unlike a man, besides she had breasts on her chest, towered over him. He was defenceless. He couldn't see her face, she was wearing a black mask that covered her head and was topped by a wide brimmed jungle hat. She was holding a hunting rifle in her hands. Voldemort felt fear fill him, making him feel sick, making him tempted to vomit. Without his wand, without his magic, he was vulnerable. _

_The woman slowly slung the rifle on her shoulder, and hauled Voldemort up, slamming him into a tree. Voldemort had just got him breath back when he let it out again when she sucker punched him in the stomach. _

" _That's for the pain and grief you put me through, you bastard," the woman hissed. She then punched him in the stomach, before delivering a bone shattering, stomach bursting kick. _

_Voldemort was trying to get his mind working about who this woman was, but she didn't give him a chance. He got punch again, this time in the jaw. He was certain that it was dislocated, he wasn't sure because he got punched again in the cheek, followed closely by a kick to the chest. _

_The woman towered over him, but Voldemort tried desperately to get away from her. The woman slammed her foot down on his back and pinned him to the forest floor. _

" _Running away, or crawling as the case may be. That's your style isn't it ? Running away from a fight, typical really. But, as the actress said to the bishop, you're not going to last long." _

_Viciously, the woman kicked him onto his back and pinned him by the stomach. _

_The woman took off her hat and hood. Voldemort gulped, fear flooding his very being. _

_It was Lara Potter. _

_Ever since this bitch had returned everything had gone wrong, virtually all his followers were dead, his bases were destroyed….and all because of her. _

_Potter looked down at him, contempt written all over her face, " You're a fool. You could've saved yourself from his pain if you'd bothered to get over your pathetic childhood."_

_Voldemort's rage was exceeded by his shock, " How do you - ?"_

" _Know about you ? Please, don't tell me you haven't figured it out yet. You idiot, you left a piece of yourself in my scar. I removed it years ago. I've been using it to follow you, to stay one step ahead, but not before I learnt….secrets, secrets that are mine alone to know. I know everything, honey bunch. Once I removed the personality from the soul fragment, it wasn't difficult to learn about you." Lara stated coldly. " Then I decided to use your own horcrux against you, I found the others. I destroyed them all. All the passwords, the defences…..all of them gone."_

_Lara sneered, " You're going to die. Soon. I'd prefer it if you came to me because I don't really want to hunt you down. But don't think for one moment that I don't have the capacity, if you do then you really don't learn about your opponents. But then again you do that anyway, you attacked me in Diagon Alley. You tried to kill me. Instead of bothering to find out what I was capable of, you taunted me, then you fired the killing curse. Did it really not occur to you that I might've received magical training of some sort ?"_

_Lady Saint didn't bother waiting for a response, " You may as well accept it, Amelia Bones is winning. She's pushing the pureblood supremacist bullshit you've been shoving down the magical world's throat. Don't bother going after her," she added, noticing his look of rage. " She's under heavy protection, besides Amelia isn't the weak minded fool Fudge was, he was a shit fighter. I honestly thought you had standards, Tommy boy, what happened ? Your balls drop off or something ?" _

_Lara's hand flashed out and heaved Voldemort up. With the pressure on his chest, the posture and position of his body was painful for him. _

" _If you try and kill her, stab her in the back with the same cowardice you've used in murdering people who couldn't defend themselves, I'll torture you myself."_

_It might've been a weak threat, if what happened next hadn't happened. The vista of the forest changed, becoming a dungeon. It was filled with various instruments, some of them inside cabinets. There was even a rack, only it was driven by what Voldemort recognised as an electric motor. He actually had first hand experience of it, when he found himself tied down to it. _

_He spat at Lara, " You're insane !" _

_Voldemort did the only thing he could think of doing in such a situation; he tried to struggle. But then instead of leather straps, there came metallic gauntlets that went down to the joint in the upper arm. The metal dug painfully into his flesh. _

_Lara moved closer, then with the same coldness she'd exhibited when she'd tortured him in real life, she pulled a lever. Voldemort gasped, then screamed as the rack moved an impressive foot._

" _Oh yeah," Lara said nonchalantly, " I forgot to mention. Instead of simple electrical motors this rack is hydraulic, its controlled by electricity. The hydraulics are capable of tearing your bones apart in seconds. But only if I control it from his panel." she pointed. _

_Voldemort gasped in agony._

_Lara spat at him, " Are you willing to co-operate, or do you need another torture along with this one ?"_

_Voldemort screamed in agony as he felt something like the cruciatus curse shoot through his body. But this was different, it felt….deeper. The cruciatus curse was like being torched by a blowtorch, but this was like being under a surgeons scalpel. _

_As he screamed, Potter spoke to him again," I'm going to leave you like this, even when you awake for one hour. But let me tell you something, you miserable piece of flesh. I want you to come to the Ministry in 2 days. 12.00 sharp. If you're not there, directly, no disguises, no trickery, I will make this seem like sunbathing on a beach. Don't think that just because you're a powerful wizard, that means that you can simply avoid it. Be a man, for the first time in your pathetic and useless life. Don't make me hunt you, you will regret it. Believe me." _

_The ultimatum was given. _

* * *

Voldemort woke up screaming in agony, his muscles and bones felt like someone had let a troll loose and tore the arms and legs out of their joints.

The room was silenced, no sound left it but he could hear everything that was happening outside the room. Voldemort was in unbearable agony. When it was over, he gasped in agony. The knowledge that the horcrux - his own soul fragment ! - was being used against him filled him with fury and terror. But he knew he could do nothing about it. He hated to admit it, but the bitch held all the cards; she'd wiped out death eaters, their homes, brought the Order of the Phoenix into reality, destroyed his financial base, destroyed his Horcruxes.

Albus Dumbledore may've been the person people thought he was afraid of, but no longer. Lady Saint was the person he feared now, more than ever. Dumbledore had never threatened him, never cornered him inside his own mind and beat him up.

Voldemort would attend the battle, he had no choice, but he knew that if he was to survive then he would need to become creative. But that would a problem because he hadn't needed it for decades.

* * *

" Do you think he'll show up and fight you ?" Lily asked Lara, her hands twisting her napkin.

Lara paused in eating her grapefruit, " He doesn't have much of a choice. He has three choices, firstly, he comes to the Ministry and faces his fate like a man for a change. Second, I warned him not to run away, but somehow I think he'll try and bend that particular warning." Lara popped the piece of fruit in her mouth, relishing the taste of the sour juices.

Hermione reached for the orange juice, trying to avoid looking at her pale mother.

" You said three choices. What's the third one ?"

" Ah yes," Lara said thickly as she ate another piece of grapefruit, " Number three, I go into his mind. Again. Then I put him through the worst hunt of his life."

" Then what ?" Hermione asked, wondering what painful and ingenious way Lara had devised for the most evil wizard alive.

Lara's smile didn't reassure them one little bit.

* * *

Amelia Bones wasn't happy when she heard the news that Lara would fight Lord Voldemort inside the Ministry. But she knew she had no choice - Lara's whole countenance hinted that the battle would take place whether it was at the bottom of the Atlantic, or in the middle of the Leaky Cauldron. Amelia had known Lady Saint for a while, she knew that she was determined, ruthless and at times uncaring about the consequences of her actions. The Minister knew that she could do nothing, she'd tried talking Lara out of using the Ministry as the battlefield.

But Lara had given her some good reasons for using the Ministry; firstly, Voldemort's creation was partially the fault of everyone in the magical world, something Amelia had understandably resented. Lara obviously believed that if the Dark lord was killed inside the centre of the British magical community then it would make people realise that not all their mistakes could be solved with the wave of a wand.

Other reasons included the fact that Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade was crowded, and was the worst place to hold a battle to the death. When Amelia pointed out that the Ministry was also crowded, especially at 12 o clock in the day, Lara had told her that her decision stood.

Lara had also stated that the destruction of the Ministry would be negligible. Amelia knew that if she interfered, that if she tried to stop Lara, then she would make a very serious enemy. Amelia may know quite about Lady Saint, but the Minister was a damn sight more afraid of what Lara knew about her, especially if Amelia made the mistake that would strike herself off the very short ally list Lara possessed.

* * *

The news that Lara would battle Lord Voldemort in the Ministry was announced to the Order of the Saint the very day that Lara had threatened Voldemort inside his own brain, but they daren't circulate it because they were now sealed inside the manor.

Lara didn't believe in keeping secrets like Dumbledore did, but she knew when it was prudent to only allow tidbits of information to leak out. Besides, she didn't truly trust the Order members Moody had brought in, with the information they had now Lara knew that one of them might be tempted to try something. Lara would have to be stupid to know that she wasn't really popular with the Order, not that she really cared, but she wasn't going to go to the Ministry unless she knew who her allies were. She knew she could…trust her parents, trust Granger, but she didn't trust the likes of Black, Lupin or Tonks.

Lara leant back on her bed, thinking of her parents.

For years she'd hated them, just seeing someone who had red hair sent her into a hate induced rage that literally shattered glass. She still hadn't forgiven herself for destroying that town centre in London.

But now she trusted them more than she did the order, and that was only as much as she trusted the weather during winter. She didn't trust them that much, she tolerated them but her thoughts were more warmer towards them now than they had been this time last year.

Lara closed her eyes, thinking about the situation. The question of what she was going to do when this was over, when she'd washed her hands of the magical world, and her parents, came back. What would she do ?

This would require more thinking.

* * *

On the day of the battle, everyone sat at breakfast, the aura and tension of everyone stopping only a three sentence conversation between everyone.

Lara ate as if this was a normal day, but inwardly, she was slightly scared. She had never done this before, criminals yes, super powered and pissed off dark lords, no. But she projected her typical air of confidence that should reassure everyone here, but it didn't exactly reassure her. She tried to remember all the times she'd gone through with adrenaline rushing sports, hoping they'd reassure her. It didn't work.

When she was finished, she got ready and joined everyone in the hall and flooed over to the ministry, but not before being hugged by Emma Granger.

She was on her way.


	29. Chapter 29 Lady Saint Vs Lord Voldemort

**Lady Saint Vs. Lord Voldemort. **

When Lara got to the atrium, she wasn't disappointed. Lord Voldemort was already there, and the place was clear of ministry personnel. She didn't care about that, all she wanted to do was make him suffer.

Voldemort had his wand out, and outwardly he looked every bit the deadly wizard he'd been for most of his life.

" You're here, at last." Voldemort said, sounding more braver than he had the last time they'd met. Back then, Voldemort had been unable to threaten her and Lara had held all the cards. Now it sounded like he was back in charge. Well, she'd show him.

Voldemort sounded like he himself had challenged Lara to this, not the other way round. Lara looked at him, taking out her daggers, sizing her enemy up.

" I wouldn't miss it," Lara said amicably, sounding like she was speaking to an old and dear friend, not an enemy with no principles.

" But, as the actress said to the bishop, the party awaits." Lara drawled, gathering her energies, both magical and physical. This was a fight she had no intention of losing, especially to this freak of nature.

" _Avada Kedavra !_" Lord Voldemort shouted.

* * *

Ducking the killing curse was child's play for an athletic acrobat like Lady Saint, and as soon as the curse passed over her head, missing her by a whisker, she looked up. Her keen tactical mind took over, looking over her resources. She had plenty of tricks, but which one first ? For a moment, she wondered whether she should use her dampening field, but then decided against it. She wanted to wear Voldemort out, show him his own bag of tricks had more holes in it that a piece of cheese.

Lord Voldemort had a weakness, whilst he was a powerful wizard, he was unable to think outside the box, and come up with his own spells, so he made do with older spells and enchantments. Not so with Lady Saint, she constantly adapted her own abilities. But she knew better than to underestimate her opponents.

" _Avada kedavra_ this, _Avada Kedavra _that, don't you have anything better than that ?" Lara asked, disdain tainting her tone, " I mean, you claim you're this big wizard, but where's the power ? Where's the genius you say you have ?"

Lara didn't expect, nor did she want an answer from him. Besides, the man would probably go into one of those rants of how powerful he truly was, and Lara truly didn't care one way or another.

Whipping her daggers around, Lara teleported around Voldemort, slicing a nick of skin here and there, making the dark lord squeal with pain.

" You know, shortcake, you sound like a girl when you squeal. You sure your male ?" Lara asked mockingly, keeping her concentration on the fight.

Voldemort screamed, losing his control, " I'll KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE - URK !" He doubled up when Lara punched him in the stomach with a magically powered punch. Blood went spurting when the bitch slashed him with her daggers, one slash on the face, and the other one slashed across his chest.

" You know, that skin colour, it looks like it could do with some time in the sun." Lara commented, whipping her daggers around and hitting Voldemort.

Voldemort gritted his teeth, realising the bitch was trying, and succeeding, in angering him. He gathered his energies, and screamed, pointing his wand, " Expelliarmus !"

The spell took Lara by surprise, and knocked one of her daggers out of her hand. But she still had one more dagger. Lara narrowed her eyes, and decided to use more vicious means of fighting. Using her magic, Lady Saint focused her mind on Voldemort's organs. She summoned his liver. Because the liver was protected by the skin and muscles of Voldemort's body, there was a problem, but Lara didn't care.

Voldemort felt an incredible pain in his body, it felt as if something was trying to get out of his body. Dropping to his knees, the fearsome dark lord screamed as a squelching sound signalled the removal of his liver. As soon as he saw the organ, Riddle's face paled even more as blood started to leak out of his body. She'd done it deliberately to weaken him, he thought numbly. Voldemort dropped his wand as the pain and lack of strength in his body stopped his magic from compensating. Without his full body, Voldemort's magic was unable to actually function properly. He simply didn't have the strength to fight the bitch.

For the first time in his life, Voldemort wished he'd never become a dark lord. Look where it had gotten him, no horcruxes, no back up, a decade disembodied, and now this, tortured by a bitch. Lady Saint wasn't the ideal enemy, she was vicious and didn't fight by any foreseeable rules.

Voldemort was so weak he couldn't fight back when Lara took out a vial of something, and then lobbed it at him. Tom Riddle died as soon as the vanquishing potion exploded all over him.

Voldemort's body caught magical fire, destroying his body forever. There weren't any ashes left, as what the vanquishing potion was supposed to do. There was no way for Tom Riddle Jr to ever return, his soul and body were both destroyed. Lara poured some potion on the liver she'd ripped from his body. The liver caught fire, incinerating it completely. Carefully, Lara did the same with all the blood in the vicinity, there was no point in taking chances with someone in the future trying to clone Voldemort and begin a reign of terror all over again.

Lara took a deep breath, it was finally over. She was free. But it was far from over. Percy Weasley ambled over to where Lara was, and in his most pompous voice said, " Lara Potter, also known as " Lady Saint ", you are hereby under arrest for the murder of Lord Voldemort - "

Amelia came over, furious, not with Lara but with the fool who was trying to arrest her. Both Lily and James followed, looking angry. Both of them had watched as their only living child defeated Lord Voldemort, now this prick was trying to arrest her. He wasn't getting away with that !

" No Percy, she is not under arrest. You're fired. Get out of the ministry." Amelia growled.

" But Minister, she murdered - " Percy protested, but Amelia was far from finished. Yes, she hadn't wanted the last battle between Lord Voldemort and Lara to take place in the Ministry, but she would be damned if the person responsible was arrested. Besides she'd wanted to get rid of Percy for a long time.

" No Percy, she didn't murder him. She _executed him, _by prophecy. That's complexly different from murder. You should know the laws concerning prophecies, as soon as they're fulfilled, the person should either be left alone or locked up. Have you forgotten the carnage and destruction Lord Voldemort committed during both his reigns of terror, or are you just blind to your own petty ambitions ? Get out Percy, you've no place in this ministry."

James added his own two knuts, " Trying to arrest the Potter heiress ? Not a good move Percy, you might be ambitious, but do you really think the wizengamot would allow the arrest of the heiress of one of the founding and noble families, or are you just stupid ?"

Percy, pale in the face, glared at Amelia, and then Lara, then he held his head high as he left the ministry. Amelia watched his departure, shaking her head as she did. She was glad the simpering fool was going.

Amelia turned to face Lara, and her parents did the same.

But Lara was gone.


	30. Chapter 30 The Letter

**The Letter. **

The death of Lord Voldemort created a surge in the magical world, the reign of terror was over. People celebrated and some got drunk. Yet the person responsible for this had vanished.

The next day the Potters received a letter, it was on top of Lily's pillow. After the battle between the dark lord and Lara, both of them had searched around the manor, and they even visited the house Lara had lived in when they first found her. They hadn't found her. When Lily found the letter on her pillow

The Grangers and Lily and James read the letter;

_Dear Mother and Father, _

_I had to leave the Ministry, mostly because I realised that you had your world, just like I had mine. Our worlds couldn't be more different, mine is in the non magical world, everything changes and there are numerous opportunities. But the magical world made me feel trapped. When Dumbledore kept trying to meddle in my life, I realised there was no definite future for me at that point. _

_Ever since I stayed with you, I pointed out continuously that the magical world was flawed, the fact that no one bothers to fight their own battles and lets others do it is proof of that, that Dumbledore was able to get away with raping numerous kids for so long is also proof of my point. The magical world has existed on its own laurels for decades, in a way, and even I have to admit it even though I killed him, Voldemort was right about one thing; the magical world needs to change. One day, and I'm not joking, the magical world will die out. Stunned ? Let me explain, purebloods marry each other, yes ? Therefore you have a gene pool with no variety. Muggleborns come in, some marry into old families, like you Mother, and give birth to magically powerful children. Does the magical world take heed ?_

_No, what do they do instead ? They persecute the " half bloods ", but you should know that if anyone gave me aggro then I'd give them more grief that they gave me. It doesn't help matters that Dark lords rise every decade or so, killing off the people that help the magical world more than the purebloods and their backwards beliefs that don't make a shred of sense whatsoever. Voldemort was right about the need for change, but his change was brought on because he was a delusional racist. His ideas come from the purely selfish desire to become " the greatest sorcerer in the world," they had nothing to do with helping the wizarding world. How can killing off purebloods, the people he's supposedly restoring to power and grace, help the wizarding world ? It makes no sense. _

_These aren't the reasons I'm leaving the magical world; I don't belong in the magical world, simply. When I was a child, no one cared about the fact I was neglected because Dumbledore poked his long nose into our family. When I left no one tried to find me, to reassure me that I was indeed wanted. That's when I lost my trust in people altogether, forcing me to rely solely on myself. _

_I became Lady Saint because of what was forced on me. I was forced to scavenge for food, water and shelter. I had money, but it was magical money. Besides, one of the primary reasons for me becoming Lady Saint is out of prison. _

_Toni Tiglon. _

_I'd intended to become Lady Saint after I left Salem's, but I was forced into it. That bitch has a reckoning with me. I intend to pay her back for the ungodly things that she's done. I intend to kill her, and I don't care about how long it takes to find her. _

_You see, parents, I'd already intended to leave magical Britain when Voldemort was finished off. I'd packed my stuff, sending it away as I did, my friends, the Wiccans and all the rest left with new insights into the brains of magical Britain. Considering the prejudice they've seen, don't expect a lot of high singing praise, especially from the Americans. Their DMLE ordered them to write a report for everything they saw in magical Britain, and I mean everything, right down to the way the people treated each other. Considering the lack of change and the dark ages mentality, I doubt that their report will be glowing. _

_Here's reason number 3 for me leaving; I'd committed a heist before you met me, I stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre art gallery, copying it a few times before sending the fakes off to those of the ungodly that paid a lot of cash for putting it into their private collection. I'd spent a year on that heist, studying the security systems and working out ways of bypassing them, but I also spent a lot of time feeling for those who would pay a lot of cash for the picture. An expensive gloat, yes, but they'd go for it. I met them in a predetermined place, using different disguises so then they would be put off the scent when the truth came out, and sold the pictures for considerable profits. After a while I returned the original to the Louvre, revealing the truth. The copies were worthless. _

_I wasn't worried, I'd worked the whole thing out carefully. I used disguises, an assumed name, I transferred the cash electronically so then it would be untraceable. I split the cash up three ways - one lot went into Gringotts, which would finance any time I spent in the magical world and also pay off my agents I'd formed to keep me aware of how the magical world was. They were muggleborns, mostly. And disgruntled ones at that. Very useful, and they'd pay off the homeless network, both in the magical world and the non magical. My eyes and ears all over the world, not even Amelia knows the scale and I'm not going to tell her either. _

_The second lot went into my own bank accounts, in banks all over the world. The third I gave to charity. _

_You might not know it, but there are two types of Lady Saint; the thief Lady Saint, and the vigilante Lady Saint. I've been the vigilante for a while, and after I've popped off Tiglon, I'll be back to thief Lady Saint, and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. I don't know how long it's going to take me to find the bitch, but I will. I know her well, but I don't know where she'll be. _

_In the room I was staying in, I left behind a two -way mirror. If I'm coming for a visit, or if you want to have a chat then give me a call. If there's another dark lord then please call me, but please try to fight them off with the philosophy I taught you. Shoot first and ask questions later. _

_DO NOT USE IT TOO OFTEN, OTHERWISE I WON'T ANSWER, OR I'M ON A CASE ! _

_If I'm on a case then the mirror will glow red, but other than that, I'll stay in touch. After spending time with you, I admit I'd gotten used to you, but I hope the lessons you learnt will stop people from placing children on pedestals, leaving others to be neglected. _

_Watch out for my sign, I'll be back. _

_Lara Taylor nee Potter. _

_Lady Saint. _

Lily and James looked at one another, and hugged each other. Their daughter was out there, still alive and well. The Potters had learnt that they'd made a mistake all those years ago, now they only needed to stop other people from making them.

* * *

They met Amelia the next day, and told her about the letter.

" I'm delighted she's alright, but I would really like to know the scale of the network Lara has." she admitted.

Lily chortled, " I doubt she'd do that, Lara needs that network, and figures you don't."

" How could she think that ? Of course I need it !" Amelia said angrily.

James shook his head, " You'd have to find out where they are, and the magical world is full of people that are disgruntled by the way things are. "

Amelia picked up the letter again, and picked out something that caught her attention, " Is she right, about the muggleborns helping magical society ?"

James looked down before nodding, " Yes, as a head of an ancient and noble family I have the authority to view magical records. In the past century or so the number of squibs is on the increase, and the power of children with muggle or muggleborn parents is increasing. With some other light side families helping me compare the results, I've found that the purebloods are losing their powers. It may take years, but magical kind will die unless there's action."

Amelia sighed, " I'll see what I can do, but I can't see anything coming out of it. I'll contact the ICW later and ask them for help in that matter. With many of the dark side families gone, thanks to Lara and Lord Voldemort, passing bills for change wont be a problem, but there will be opposition, especially from the those that privately think the magical world will be better off without muggleborns."

" You do that and then there will be no more wizards and witches." Lily protested.

" I know," Amelia sighed, " but I know there will be opposition."

In order to escape the silence of the implications of Lara's letter, Amelia cherry picked the next one, " What about putting children on pedestals ?"

Lily and James nodded, " The pain Lara went through was mostly because of that issue."

Lily added after her husband, " Dumbledore also interfered with Lara, telling us she was more of hindrance, and that we'd be better off if she went to the Dursleys, my sister's family, and," looking down guiltily, " we both agreed to it. We must stop this from happening again."

* * *

In the next 6 months, the magical world woke up to new changes, changes that quite a few amongst the population had been waiting for decades. Muggleborns were now able to do things they'd never been able to do; they could now get jobs in the ministry, and many more things. With the pureblood supremacists out of the way, the muggleborns could now do what they needed since they left Hogwarts. In the past, muggleborns would leave Hogwarts, spend time looking for work, but no matter where they went, they found nothing because of the unfair prejudicial laws the pureblood supremacists had placed in and around magical Britain. It was ridiculous, a muggleborn unable and un allowed to sell anything, unable to follow any dream career they'd had since arriving in the magical world. As a result, they left after finding nothing. Once or twice, muggleborns would marry into old families, like Lily Potter, but other than that they left, moving back home and catch up with their old education.

Lady Saint had changed that, and to the muggleborns, had earned her name !

* * *

Meanwhile, in Spain, police officers were surveying a crime scene at a penthouse. The place was pristine, nothing was damaged, no glass shattered all over the place. All there was was a corpse. She was covered in blood, she looked like she'd been beaten to death by bars of steel.

An inspector knelt over the corpse, peering at the blood, " Who was she ?"

The sergeant looked at him funnily, " We found a letter, it was addressed too Toni Tiglon."

That got the inspector's attention, " Wasn't she the one who got sent down for dealing drugs to kids, for stealing art, and all that ?"

" The same," the sergeant said, wishing his boss was a little more aware of things outside their country, " she left for Spain, paying a fortune to live here, and in return for that she'd give us a list of names about major criminals, including drug lords and art theives."

The inspector grunted. Criminals were always selling each other out, in cases like that then revenge was inevitable.

" Tiglon sold them out, big deal."

" No, it isn't," a unformed cop said from another room, " Come 'ere and look, si."

Both police officers picked themselves up from Tiglons' corpse and walked into the other room, Tiglon's bedroom. On the wall was a familiar logo. The inspector gasped, " My god,"

The sergeant was equally stunned, " Look at what's written, _A life for a life, bitch !" _I heard she took Tiglon down the first time, she must've been pissed off when the bitch was freed."

On the wall, in yellow paint, was the stick figure logo of Lady Saint.

**_A / N - I'm finished, but my Saint stories are not. Stay tuned, and keep watching. Watch out for the sign of the Saint, or Lady Saint, they'll be back !_**


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's note. I've put up a new story in the Saint series. Its called The Saint.**

**Enjoy, and thanks for enjoying my Lady Saint story.**


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